“What do you hope to achieve here, Major, but to entertain me with your death?”
Taylor had reached the very end of the viewing platform. He knew he could make a jump with the boosters on his suit, but he wondered why he should bother. He dropped to one knee, his body aching all over. Karadag stopped and looked down at the humble human.
“Did you come here to die? Is this your final act of heroism? No one will survive to remember it.”
Suddenly, Taylor noticed the Eagle FV banking sharply around the dome. He turned his head away from the creature to hide his smile. He looked back up to see the creature studying him with curiosity. Taylor could hear the engines of the copter grow louder as it approached at speed. Karadag turned sharply to investigate the noise.
The side door of the craft was open, and it was swooping in low and close to the ramp. Mitch could already make out the shape of Eli stood at the door shouting. As the alien glared at the copter, Taylor took his opportunity to leap to his feet. He launched himself with all his bodyweight and threw his knee into the creature’s stomach. Karadag folded with the strike and exhaled from the impact. He quickly followed it with a hard push kick that tossed the creature onto its back.
Within a second of landing, the alien had flipped back onto its feet and growled with anger. Taylor turned and took a quick leap from the observation ramp. He hit his boosters onto full and was launched into the air. He smashed into the side door of the copter, shaking the entire craft. His arms only just made it in through the door as his legs dangled in mid air.
Eli grabbed his armour as he began to slip. She struggled to haul him aboard as Eddie banked hard and put power down quickly. They all knew there was little time to escape the blast. Major Chandra appeared beside her and grabbed at his other arm, and between the two women they hauled him aboard.
Karadag stood at the end of the ramp watching with a bitter hatred as they soared into the distance. Taylor clambered into the other side of the copter and in between the other marines. He sighed in relief as he lay back, looking around the compartment. It was far less full than before, even with the addition of the two women. He saw Silva. The Sergeant’s face was singed and grimy. It was clear to Taylor that they had lost more than he had seen. He looked to Suarez.
“Is it done?”
The Lieutenant nodded.
Taylor smiled. It was a relief that almost allowed him to put the deaths of his comrades past him. He wriggled to try and get more comfortable but winced in pain. His face was covered in blood from his nose that was mixing with the grimy sweat.
“Are you alright, Mitch?” asked Eli.
He nodded, but there was little to say on the matter.
“What was that creature?”
“He called himself Karadag.”
“It spoke to you?” Chandra asked.
Taylor nodded. “And another thing, he suggested that Jones is alive.”
Chandra’s eyes lit up. She had so many questions, but she refrained as she saw that he had little else to tell. Before they could say another word to each other, a flash erupted, lighting up the sky as if it had turned to day. They turned their heads away from the blinding light for a second until it settled. Taylor crawled to the window and peered out to see the dome in the distance had been obliterated and a mushroom cloud was expanding out from where it had stood.
The explosion was a couple of kilometres wide. The blast dome had contained the radius substantially, but in doing so had ensured the utter destruction of what was inside. He had nothing to say, no smile or cheer. Taylor simply watched as the light began to fade.
“You did it!” shouted Parker.
He turned back to face her.
“We stopped the weapon, but we have lost France. We have lost Jones. We continue to lose our Company.”
Eli wrapped her arms around him as much to comfort the Major as herself. They all knew that the war was far from over. The victory they had won did not put them in any better stead than they were a week earlier. Taylor thought back to the creature he had met; Karadag. Something told him that he had not seen the last of the alien leader. The beast had shown Taylor that the aliens were not so different. They were not a faceless enemy. He looked up to Chandra.
“Why did you come for me?”
“Because we have lost enough in this war.”
“Then you must believe we can get Jones back as well?”
Chandra smiled.
“We’re still in this war, aren’t we?”
Taylor watched out of the window of the copter door as they once more darted across the treetops to return to their latest home.
Yes, they had lost so many, but there was still hope.
FB2 document info
Document ID: fbd-55cc9f-8f79-3049-08b6-3467-b9c9-05bc3a
Document version: 1
Document creation date: 28.03.2012
Created using: Fiction Book Designer, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6 software
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Battle Earth II be-2 Page 21