The rest of the evening was a quiet and sombre affair as all who had sat at that table thought of the perils that were to come. They watched the rest of the Company joyfully party, but they could think of nothing else. Taylor and Parker went to bed that night and lay beside each other in silence. It was a sadness they had wished they’d never feel again.
* * *
“Major Taylor! Major Taylor!”
Mitch awoke at the sound of his voice being bellowed out by Silva. The Sergeant continued to bark his name, and it was getting louder as he closed the distance to his billet. Eli had arisen at the noise and was groaning at being woken so harshly. They could tell from the natural light flooding through the partially transparent fabric of the field billet that the sun had recently risen to bring them into the next day.
“Major Taylor!”
The calls continued. He could tell that it was urgent, and by the concern in Silva’s harsh voice, he could already tell that it was not going to be good news. He leapt from his bed and pulled on his boots and coat. He still war his BDUs from the night before. The heaters they had kept the billets from freezing, but it was far from warm. He opened the door to find Silva just reaching him. He could see a distraught look in the man’s eyes. He’d rarely seen such fear from the steadfast Sergeant.
“What is it?”
“Sir, you need to come with me, now!”
Taylor leapt out of the billet and followed the Sergeant. He’d never have taken orders from any NCO, but it was clear to him that he needed to trust Silva. The Sergeant led him to Commander Phillips’ command vehicle and stepped inside with him. Phillips and Chandra were stood around the briefing table, and Jones entered shortly after.
“What the hell’s going on?” insisted Taylor.
“I have just had official confirmation that thirty minutes ago, there was an attack at Ramstein air base.”
“What? How?”
“Preliminary reports suggest that an overwhelming force of enemy aircraft entered the atmosphere at speed and carried out a lightning fast attack which flattened most of the base. They struck quickly before any intercept fighters could counter them.”
“What about the ground defences?” Taylor asked.
“Seems they took down a few of the enemy bombers, but much of the system had still not been repaired since the last battle there. The base was only just getting operational again.”
“Christ,” whispered Jones.
“What are the casualties?”
“The only contact we have had is with the crew of the Deveron who narrowly escaped the same fate as they were on the way back from a refit in England, but their Captain, Reyes, was on the base when the attack struck. So we must assume he is among the dead.”
Taylor shook his head in disbelief. Then he remembered Chandra sending their last find to the research facilities there.
“The incubation chambers?”
“The only reports we have back so far are from the Deveron, and it doesn’t look good. These are the initial images they sent.”
Phillips tapped a few keys on the glass display of the table, and it lit up with the images of the devastated base. As a US base, it had been quickly rebuilt after it had been re-captured from the enemy. It was seen as vital to morale to rebuild what had become such a symbol of hope for them all. Now it lay in ruins once again. Fire and smoke rose from the wasteland the base had become. They could just make out parts of raptors and other aircraft that had been scattered amongst the debris.
“How many personnel were in Ramstein?”
“The US deployment was about fifteen thousand, with maybe another ten thousand foreign troops and civilians.”
Taylor gasped at the news.
“Reyes was a good man, one of many,” he replied.
“Why now?” asked Jones. “Why Ramstein? I thought the war on Earth was over?”
“Clearly not,” replied Phillips.
“It is too much of a coincidence that the only attack they have launched since their retreat was against the base where we sent the only remaining incubation chambers we have found so far,” stated Chandra.
“You believe they are that valuable to them?” asked Jones.
“I believe whatever we would have learnt from them was worth everything to the enemy,” she replied.
“This confirms one thing for certain,” replied Phillips. “This war isn’t over.”
Taylor could feel the anger growing inside him. He thought of his comments the night before, how he’d wanted it all to end. Now he remembered why they continued fighting.
“Reyes was a good friend and a great officer. I will not stand by and let this attack go unanswered.”
Chandra nodded in agreement. She was glad of having his support back but hated the circumstances that had led to it. Mitch looked to Jones who was still staring at the images of the devastated base.
“Jones, I know what we said before. But times have changed. We’re in this fight whether we like it or not. Will you stand by us?”
He looked up with a fierce anger that Taylor had not seen since the enemy had retreated from Earth. Gone was the peace in his eyes.
“I want every one of those bastards dead. I will not stand by to see our people suffer any longer against these animals!”
Chandra could see the Captain was almost reduced to tears. He, more than any of them, had suffered the most against the invaders, and she knew it was a horrible thing to ask him to face them time and time again.
“I want this news kept on the QT for now. It could destroy morale among our armies,” ordered Phillips.
Before any of the others had time to speak, they heard cries ring out around the base. They rushed to the door of the command vehicle to look out across the square in Reims that had become their staging ground. Troops were shouting as they ran towards a large display screen in the opposite end of the square. Even from the distance, Taylor could just make out scenes of devastation on the screen as hundreds of troops flocked to it. Phillips rushed to the edge of the ramp and shouted out to the nearest passing soldier. They were rushing towards the screen in a frenzy.
“Private! What’s going on?” he asked.
“They’ve bombed Ramstein! The fuckers have bombed Ramstein!”
Phillips turned and shook his head in disbelief.
“Guess it’s a little late,” said Chandra.
They turned to see a news anchor appear on the screen overlaid on top of the aerial images of the burning ruins.
“I’ve seen enough,” whispered Taylor.
He jumped from the ramp as the others watched the anger build among the troops. Phillips smiled as he realised their morale wasn’t dead. They weren’t at a loss. They were angry, and they wanted blood. Taylor strode away from the scene. Only Silva saw him leave and rushed after him.
“Where are you going, Sir?” he insisted.
“We are at war, Sergeant. I am going to make sure we have what we need to win it.”
“Mind if I tag along?”
He turned and saw the Sergeant was eager to assist.
“Sure.”
They continued on to the landing ground where the Company’s copters had been based. Kato and Rains were taking delivery of some components beside the last intact vehicle they had between them.
“Major! What’s the ruckus all about?” asked Rains.
Taylor responded in a grim tone. “Ramstein, it’s gone.”
“What are you talking about, man?”
“Bombed to hell this morning.”
“Fuck,” he replied. “What are you doing here?”
“I need a ride, to Paris.”
“Well, sure, you got mission clearance?”
“You just got it from me.”
Rains smiled. He knew just like many times before that it was best not to ask.
“Let’s fire this bird up.”
* * *
Taylor rushed into the HQ in Paris. It was a freshly built administrative quarters in the centr
e of the city that General Schulz was using as his command post during the reconstruction. Despite being a foreign officer, his reputation and achievements had awarded him an honorary rank within France and much support among its people. Taylor’s ID got him through the gate security and into the building, but the General’s secretary tried to stop him. She was a well-kept civilian in a perfectly cut and clean suit.
“Sir, you can’t see the General without an appointment.”
He continued on at a brisk pace that she could do nothing to stop. Taylor burst through the doors to the General’s office with Silva close behind. Schulz looked up and smiled at the sight of the Major. Several other officers and the city Mayor sat around a table with him.
“Major Taylor, it is an honour to have such a decorated officer among us.”
He looked to his secretary who was flustered. “It’s okay, leave us.”
“Cut the bullshit, General. Ramstein has been flattened. This war is very much back on.”
“I am aware of that fact, Major.”
“The Moon must be taken back, and I want in!”
“Your enthusiasm and determination is to be admired, Major.”
“General. We have what it takes. I know the colony, and we have one of the finest combat units in the world. But this war has taken a heavy toll. We need troops, guns, and we need to be brought back up to strength. Not a few dozen to fulfil a company. We need a battalion once again.”
Schulz took a deep breath and looked across at his advisers. One of them finally spoke up, a French officer.
“Sir, the Immortals leading the charge could give an immense boost to morale.”
Schulz nodded. Taylor could see that the General felt no ill will towards him, and he was starting to understand it. They each had their part to play and needed each other.
“You would choose to remain under my command?” asked Schulz.
“I believe you’ll be placed in charge of any Moon deployment, Sir. I want to be where the action is.”
“Your Company is an amalgamation of British and American troops, is it not?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Then it is only fitting that we maintain that. I will get you the troops and equipment you need, if you agree to be the spearhead of my operation. The troops need heroes, Major, and you’re a poster boy that can turn the tide in the coming battles.”
Taylor nodded. “It would be an honour, Sir.”
“Return to your people. I’ll have what you need sorted within the next twenty-four hours.”
Silva’s eyes widened. He’d never seen any change be made so rapidly in his long time of service. Taylor turned and strode out of the room. Silva was close by his side.
“Will he do it? Really get you everything you have asked for?”
“Yes, because we’re an asset to him that he can’t afford to lose. Much more fighting, and there’ll be nothing left of the Immortals.”
“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking. Yesterday, you wanted to put down your rifle and see an end to the fighting. Now you want to be at the forefront of a second war?”
“It’s not a new war. The old one just never ended. I see that now. Chandra was right all along. She could see that and I couldn’t. This war will end when one race is utterly destroyed.”
Silva shook his head in astonishment, but he was glad to see Taylor back to his old self. They rushed back to the copter to find Rains and Kato waiting on the ramp, each with a coffee in hand.
“You get what you were after?” asked Eddie.
“Hell, yes. We’re going back to war, Lieutenant. Are you ready to return to the Moon?”
“Fuck, yes. All those missions I flew to get aid up there. Pissed me off when we lost the colony for good. We going to take it to the bastards?”
“That’s the plan.”
“Alright!”
He threw out the contents of the coffee onto the roadside and rushed into the copter to take them back to Reims. When they got back to the city, they found Chandra and Jones waiting for them at the landing zone. They were stood in thick coats beside a heater the pilots had set up for working on the copters. As soon as they had landed, Taylor was out the door and heading down the ramp to pass on the news.
“Taylor, I’ve just heard from Field Marshal Copley himself. He says you’ve been causing quite a stir, and that we’re getting fresh troops tomorrow morning.”
“It was time we got back up to strength,” he replied.
She smiled. “How many toes did you tread on to get this?”
“Only a few. The only proviso is that we spearhead the Moon assault, that okay with you?”
“It’s what I’ve been God damn telling you these past few weeks, isn’t it?”
“So you aren’t pissed that I went over you on this?”
“Major, getting us the support we need is not going over my head! Good work, let’s just see what they send us.”
The evening was a strange mix of sombre reflection on what they had lost in Ramstein, and in what excitement lay ahead. They had all built such a hatred for the enemy that to put their lives on the line no longer mattered. It was clear to them all now what must be done. Chandra tapped her glass and drew the room to silence.
“We lost a great many friends and comrades today. They were not the first and will not be the last. Remember them, for they are the reason we are still alive today. To our fallen friends!”
She lifted her glass to an enthusiastic cheer. She turned to Taylor who sat alone with a glass of beer, staring into the distance in a world of his own.
“You asked when this war would be over for us?” she asked.
Taylor snapped out of it and turned to her with a look of curiosity of what wisdom she might impart.
“It’ll be over for us when it’s over for the world.”
He smiled.
“What?” she asked.
“Yesterday, that would have just pissed me off.”
“And now?”
“Now I wonder what any of our lives are really for. Yesterday, I wanted to end this life of soldering, but what would I do? What else are people like us made for?”
“Christ. You’re not going to go all philosophical on me, are you? I’ll go and find the chaplain if this is to continue.”
“You must give it some thought from time to time?”
“Sure, and my conclusion is I am glad I have a purpose in life. I see people wasting away doing nothing, achieving nothing. I never wanted fame or fortune, but to know that I’m doing something good with my life, that’s enough. Look at you, all that and a damn statue!”
Taylor chuckled. “Hey, I never wanted that shit.”
“But it’s there all the same, and not for no good reason.”
She could see she’d got back the officer she had come to admire so much. It warmed her to know she kept his company in such hard times.
* * *
Morning came and the Company formed up at a former playing field of a school that had been allocated to the fresh troops that were arriving. It was almost 0900 hours, and they stood calmly in the cold.
“You really believe anyone is coming?” asked Jones.
“From the hassle Taylor whipped up yesterday, yeah I believe so.”
Seconds later, they heard the roar of engines as copters tore across the sky towards them. Eddie and Kato sat on a wall beside the Company in a relaxed manner. They wanted to see what fresh equipment was coming with their own eyes. The two pilots leapt to their feet as they heard the familiar sound of the modified engines they’d grafted to their own copters. Then they came into view.
“What the fuck is that?” asked Eddie.
“Nothing we’ve seen before.”
Five aircraft burst into view that were bigger than the Eagle copters they had used previously, but they seemed to move with the same speed and nimble manoeuvrability. They descended quickly and landed down on the green in front of them. The fast decent and engines blasted a snowdrift across the fields, spla
shing the awaiting Company with a spray of white powder.
The ramps slammed down, and troops poured out from the craft, each equipped with Reitech’s finest. As the NCOs formed up the troops, a Captain strode forward to greet them. He saluted as he got with a few metres but continued onwards to shake the hand of Chandra and then the others.
“Captain Jackson, 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.”
Taylor looked at the Captain’s pristine new equipment and those of his troops. Jackson caught a glimpse of Taylor’s surprise at their attire.
“Don’t let the flashy new gear fool you, Major. These boys have been in the fight since day one and the shit hit the fan. Since the war ended, we have been refitting and re-equipping for our next deployment.”
“What are your orders, Captain?” asked Chandra.
“I have three hundred marines at my command. I have been ordered to place these troops and myself under your command in the formation of an Inter-Allied Battalion, Ma’am.”
She smiled in response. “Bloody hell.”
Chandra turned to Taylor in surprise. “You really did it.”
“It’s an honour to be here, Ma’am. You’ve all become legends back home.”
She went to respond when they were interrupted by more aircraft approaching. They turned to see another five of the unique craft roar overhead and bank hard to come in to land beside the others.
“They with you?” she asked.
“No, Ma’am, I was informed there would be British troops joining us at this LZ.”
She turned in surprise to see the craft descend and land behind the formed up marines.”
The ramps slammed down into the snow and British soldiers poured from the doors to form up beside their American counterparts.
“How is this possible?” asked Chandra.
“You asked for your support, you got it,” replied Jackson.
She looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Battle Earth IV Page 11