"They're going to breach her!" Jones shouted.
"Target those craft. Do not let them get through!" Cohen yelled.
The close range rapid fire weapons of the Guam opened up in a massive salvo, but to their horror many of the shots glanced off the enemy craft. Three were blown apart out of dozens. They continued to fire, but it was clear to all that there was no stopping them.
"Get me in there!"
"We haven't got time for your heroics, Colonel. Stay put and let the fleet handle this," ordered Cohen.
They watched as many of the craft came to an abrupt halt and latched onto the hull of the Nakbe while the breaching robots passed right though just as Jones had experienced.
"Can they hold off?"
The Lieutenant shook his head.
"Cholans have some big guns, but they have no chance in close proximity. They don't even have the equipment for it."
"Then come with me, Lieutenant," said Taylor as he turned and strode for the door.
"I gave you an order!" Cohen hollered.
Taylor stopped for just a second and looked back at the Commander.
"I don't answer to you. Fight your battle, Commander, and I will fight mine."
Cohen looked to others aboard the bridge to stop him, but nobody would dare. Taylor quickly turned and rushed out at a jogging pace.
"What's the quickest way we can get there?"
"A Sky King could have us there in less than a minute, but without really any protection or weaponry."
"Then get us one, now!"
Taylor raised his hand to speak on his comms as he ran. They reached the landing bays in under a minute, and the team was already assembled, but they looked terrified. Taylor did not break stride.
"On board, now!"
The Sky King had a long fuselage and bulbous cockpit at the front. The four engines looks unusually large and out of proportion for the size of craft. Taylor had never been keen on speed over armour, but needs must. They jumped aboard and found a solitary female pilot at the controls with no co-pilot.
"Get us moving now!" Taylor ordered as the ramp slid shut.
She looked hesitant for just a moment, but then went right back to the controls. They lifted off and soared out from the bays of the Guam, accelerating at remarkable speed. Beams of light and missiles flashed all around, and both Taylor and the pilot knew they couldn't survive any impact from the heavy ordnance that was being thrown about.
"What's your name, Lieutenant?"
"Alita Hariz," she replied quickly.
Taylor was surprised at her informality, and she spoke with a thick Scandinavian accent. Her helmet could not contain or conceal her bright blond hair and blue eyes.
"You didn't hesitate to step into this shit, why?"
"I've been waiting for this excitement in my life since the day I was born," she smiled at him.
Taylor laughed, as it reminded him of Eddie Rains, the pilot who had safely carried him through hundreds of death defying missions.
"You'll do just fine."
Taylor turned back to the view, and they were coming up fast on the Nakbe now. It was a vast vessel. Taylor knew he should be scared; he'd been here many times before, but somehow this time he was more excited than anything else. To him it just felt like a few days ago that he was locked in combat with Erdogan. He'd wanted nothing more than see an end to that war, but now he had nothing and nobody to live in peace with. This was all he had.
They were heading for the starboard fighter bays that he could see was shielded by shots impacting on the invisible surface.
"You get through that?"
"I've already sent confirmation codes."
"And if we aren't accepted?"
"We impact on the surface, and we'll be wiped out," she replied calmly.
Taylor just watched as they made their final approach, and to his relief, they passed through without any resistance at all. She brought them in on a rapid landing that caused them to skid to a halt. He turned back to his unit and found every one of them except Babacan looked white with terror. They needed more words than Taylor had time to give. He rushed up to the door and put his hand ready on the open button.
"You aren't gonna die here today because I won't let you. There is too much work to be done in this life for any of you to be quitting on it now. Let's move!"
His fist smashed into the button, and the ramp dropped down to the floor of the landing bay.
Chapter 7
They hit the deck running. The interior of the Cholan vessel was like nothing Taylor had seen before. It was lavishly decorated in garish materials as far as the eye could see. The walls look more like the archways of an ancient monastery. Twenty metres away, crews were working to repair two fighters and were oblivious to their presence.
Taylor looked for the first entrance to take them further inside the vessel and soon spotted one.
"You've fought them before. What do you think their plan is?"
"They can't be worried about us escaping right now. They must be trying to disable the primary weapon, maybe even take control of it."
"Yep, that's what I'd do."
He rushed on into a corridor that was less than half a metre above their heads, and Babacan had to duck.
"Damn they are small," Taylor said, almost smiling.
Within a few paces, they could hear the sound of gunfire echoing through the hallway, and Taylor headed right for it. The corridor was opening out now into a more grandiose structure once more. They took a turn to find three humanoid-shaped robotic warriors stomping down a corridor while firing from weapons mounted in place of forearms. They were cutting down Cholan fighters who were incapable of standing against such relentless power and aggression, but they had their backs to Taylor's unit. He raised his new rifle and took aim.
"Sure hope this has got the guts for the job now."
He squeezed the trigger and watched the single shot hit the back of the nearest robot, jolting it forward like it had taken a heavy blow. One of the gun arms went limp, but the Mech soon began to turn to oppose them.
"Hit it!" Taylor yelled.
Four others joined him, and on a volley of fire the Mech was riddled with holes and collapsed to the deck. The other two turned their attention to the threat they posed, but Taylor did not duck for cover. He ran right at them. As he did, he activated his shield and held it out before him to cover his advance. He didn't feel at all confident of an almost entirely translucent shield made of some kind of projected energy, but it was too late now, he was moving entirely on instinct. He kept firing as he ran, but the shots were having less effect against the thicker front armour. The robotic soldiers reminded him of the hulking Mech warriors he used to face so often. They moved in a clumsy and slow way, but were a formidable and strong soldier.
Taylor lowered his rifle a little and shot at the knee joint of one of the robots, and the leg went out from under it. Its gun fired in an uncontrolled arc until it was shooting the other Mech beside it. It was all the opening and opportunity Taylor needed. He kept firing as he ran and finally smashed his way into the one that was on one knee on the floor, using all the weight and power of his suit.
While it was flat on the deck, he jammed the barrel of his rifle into the flank of the other and fired three shots until it dropped down. The other Mech raised its one good weapon arm to shoot at him, but he smashed it aside using his rifle like a club. Even as the Mech tried to get up, he put his foot on its chest and forced it down to the ground, putting his gun to its head and double tapping. All was then silent; only the faint sound of gunfire and screams in the distance could be heard. He looked back at his team. They had not moved from their original position and were frozen in amazement from what they had seen.
"Don't just stand there, come on!"
They reluctantly advanced. Only Babacan appeared to go forward with some enthusiasm. He was carrying the huge multi-barrelled Hydra cannon. They all froze as they heard a bizarre sound like dozens of hundreds of l
ittle feet pattering towards them. It was coming up from the corridor they were heading to. Taylor raised his rifle in readiness for whatever was going to come at them. It got louder and louder, and they knew whatever it was it was coming for them.
"Let's put that thing to the test," Taylor said to Babacan.
He nodded in approval, just as a swarm of what were almost robotic spiders rushed around the bend. They were on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling. Before Taylor could say a word, the swarm opened fire with a mass salvo of small arms fire. Dozens of shots bounced from his shield.
"Fire!" Taylor shouted.
Babacan pulled the trigger on the Hydra and the corridor lit up. The rate of fire was so vast you could not hear one round from another. Thousands of rounds were thrown down the corridor. Taylor didn't even join in. He stood upright and marvelled at the devastation before him. It went on for almost twenty seconds until finally Babacan took his finger off the trigger. The gun barrels were red hot and smoking, and nothing was moving anymore.
"Fuck me," Jones said, gazing at the devastation.
It made Taylor smile to hear that Jones just couldn't contain himself.
"Thought you said all that vulgarity was all twenty-second century?"
Jones couldn't find any more words.
"Let's move," said Taylor.
They went forward and over the carnage that Babacan had created. Taylor felt the sound of one of the spider-like robots crunch and flatten beneath his foot as he landed squarely on it. All he could smell was burning metal and electrical component parts. They reached a crossroads and found three Cholan marines hurriedly approaching. At first they froze solid in terror, thinking Taylor and his team were the enemy, and yet didn't even bring their weapons to bear. They wore three-quarter length uniform jackets that looked more suitable for parade, with their ornate decoration and lack of any combat practicality. They wore no armour and seemed to carry no more than a handful of magazines between them.
"We're here to help," said Jones.
"Are they heading for the bridge?" Taylor asked.
One of them nodded.
"At the vessel’s core. If they can access the power systems there, they will be able to destroy this ship."
"How do you mean?"
"The power generator for the primary weapon of the Nakbe is powerful beyond belief, and energy it generates must be contained, or it will destroy the entire ship. If they can release that power, we are all dead."
"That's just fucking great," said Taylor, "Design a wonder weapon that has a good chance of blowing you to high hell."
"The Nakbe is the finest piece of..."
"All right, I get it, shut the fuck up," interrupted Taylor.
They were silenced by his imposing and rude manner.
"We're here to make sure something like that does not happen. Can you lead us to this power source?"
They looked hesitant.
"Hey, if it goes, we're all dead you said, right?"
They nodded.
"Right, then you have as much a stake in this as anyone. Lead the way," he ordered.
They went onwards, and Jones looked at Taylor with dread.
"You know about this?" Taylor asked him.
Jones shook his head.
"No, but I guess they were always gonna try and find a way to destroy the ship. This is just the ultimate solution."
Seemingly out of nowhere, one of the four-legged Morohta warriors flew from a doorway towards Jones. He turned to try and get his rifle on target, but it leapt onto him and lifted up one of its legs to thrust down into his face, but before it had a chance, Antos jumped and tackled the creature. They went tumbling down the corridor, and as they came to a standstill, he used the power of his suit to drive an elbow into the lit core on the warrior’s chest. It cracked. He smashed his hand through and took hold of the source of the light and yanked it out.
The Morohta warrior instantly went limp, and Antos stood back up with a glowing slimy ball of organic mass in his hand. It looked and smelt disgusting, but he was still smiling anyway. It made Taylor proud to see one of his own take such initiative.
"You're learning," said Taylor.
Jones got up and went right to Antos. He put his hand on his shoulder and nodded to say thank you, as he could not find any words.
"This must be their brain," said Rocha, "They're mechanical warriors driven by an organic brain. No wonder they are so resilient."
"And easily replaced," said Bailey.
"Come on, we survive this, and we'll have all the time we can want for to study these bastards," said Taylor.
They carried on at a quick pace and arrived at a large domed room with golden arches on four sides. At the entrance to one was a hastily assembled barricade made mostly from crates. The bodies of Cholan marines were sprawled out all over them.
"Guess we're on the right track."
He went right for the line and jumped over the barricade without hesitation. There were almost twenty Cholan dead scattered about the place. Some had been hit by high power ballistic weaponry, but others seemed to have been skewered in close combat. A head lay separated from one body, and a leg from another. It made most of them feel sick, but not Taylor. He didn't know them or care for them, and he'd acclimatising himself to death a long while back. Several stopped to check on the bodies.
"No time, keep moving. We don't stop this, then we're all dead anyway."
They rushed on for another minute when they came across more dead Cholans. Double the number they found before. There were a few spiders destroyed, but they appeared to have shown little resistance. A hundred metres ahead they could see two of the massive breaching robots like Jones had first encountered.
"What was it you have been calling those things?" Taylor asked.
"Stalkers."
Beside them were three of the humanoid-like robots they had encountered before. As they approached, they could see both were wielding some kind of huge hammer and began to strike against a blast door. On each impact the hammer surface sparked with light as if it was igniting and blowing holes in the doorway. A dozen of the four-legged warriors lay waiting beside them and had just spotted Taylor's approach. It was clear they were not expecting any kind of trouble.
"Here we go! Kill them all!" Taylor shouted.
He got to a sprinting pace with the others following close beside him. Babacan somehow managed to get the hulking weapon he was carrying online and pulled the trigger. It wasn't accurate, but the enemy were showered with gunfire. Taylor opened fire himself, and the others at the front of the charge joined him. He took just two shots on his shield on the way in. One of the Stalkers seemed to come right for him personally. It looked like a formable close combat monster, and Taylor only wished he had his Assegai, the small thrusting weapon that had seen him to victory in so many battles.
Taylor fired repeated shots at the Stalker as he closed, and as they met, he jumped off his feet and threw his weight high at it. He struck it hard and rolled over the top, landing beside one of the hammer wielding robots. It took a clumsy swing for him. He ducked under and came up with a full view of its back. He fired three shots until his magazine was empty. The Mech was badly damaged but still moving. He smashed his foot down onto its arm and took hold of the hammer, prizing it from the Mech’s grasp. He raised it above his head and smashed it down against the creature. Sparks flew, and it was like a grenade going off, blowing a hole in the torso of the Mech warrior.
Taylor couldn't help but smile at the weapon's effect. He now felt comfortable that he had something in hand to do a little damage. He turned to see the Stalker he had rolled over now had Bailey pinned to a wall, and she was straining to try and get free. Rocha lay wounded beside her with a puncture wound in her shoulder. Taylor jumped forward with his newly acquired hammer and swung it in a full rotation, smashing it down onto the top of the Stalker’s body. The impact charge blew a hole in its body, and yet still it turned to face him, but in doing so released Bailey.
Taylor didn't give it a moment to gain speed for an attack, and he swung the hammer into one of its legs at the joint. The impact blew the leg clean off, and the Stalker staggered a little. Taylor immediately went forward with another swing at its other front leg, blowing it off so that it dropped face first to the floor. Lastly, he smashed it down onto the creature's head. The explosion burst the head apart and sent thick dark red blood spewing out in all directions, as the hammer passed through and smashed into the ground. He looked over to see his own people gunning down the other Stalker with shear weight of fire. There was nothing left standing. Another one of theirs lay wounded, and Antos had a deep slash across his face from one cheek right over to the other.
"That might actually improve you're looks," Taylor jested.
He could see they were all relieved, but more than anything, they had found the confidence that had been so lacking. However, it had gone a lost easier than Taylor expected, and that made him suspicious. Even as he was still thinking of what could come next, they heard the drone of enemy reinforcements approaching. He looked around for some cover to get them out of line of sight. Just off to one side was a two metre-wide opening that appeared to go on for some way.
The first of the enemy forces could be seen in the distance now, in the same direction they had come from. There were dozens of warriors and Stalkers.
“We need to channel their numbers. Get in there!” he said, pointing to the opening.
Gunfire hit their position as they rushed for cover. Taylor himself grabbed Rocha by the collar of her suit and hauled her across the deck. She cried out in pain. He got almost twenty metres down the corridor and pulled her up against a bulkhead so that she had a little cover and was sitting up towards the enemy. Nobody had gotten time to attend to her wound. Her uniform was bloody, and she was in real pain.
“No time for pain, suck it up,” Taylor said, thrusting her rifle into her hands, “You want to live through this? Keep doing your job.”
Battle Beyond Earth - Box Set (Books 1-5) Page 11