Chapter 13
Kelly’s truck rolled into the hangar as it had a dozen times now. A crowd had gathered to greet them and cheer them on just as before. Their return was always a time for celebration. But as his truck came to a halt, the crowd could see the sombre tone on their faces. The cheering stopped when Kelly got out and climbed onto the hood to address them all.
“Today we lost friends, brothers in arms. We failed because our enemy outsmarted us. Mourn our friends who fell, but celebrate those who made it back. This is a war, and no war can be won without losses. The party goes on tonight all the same. We celebrate their lives, and we celebrate another day we are still alive!”
A few at the back started breaking out the drinks, but many stood stunned at the news. Kelly couldn’t bring himself to say anymore. He knew they led a limited existence that would end bloody, but that didn’t mean he had accepted the fact deep down. He climbed down and felt his back and legs tremble and feel weak. He was getting old, and there was no getting over that fact.
“You can’t win them all,” Becker said, passing Kelly a beer.
“That was my mission. My plan. It failed, and yet you offer me a drink?”
“We’re all dead. We just don’t know it yet. I’m alive right now, and that’s a fact I consider worth celebrating, don’t you think?”
Kelly laughed. It broke his sullen mood, and he was thankful to Becker for that. He was beginning to relax when a voice over the intercom rang out.
“We have incoming at the rear entrance. Armour and infantry.”
Kelly’s face turned to stone. He reached into the back of his truck, grabbed his rifle, and rushed out to the exit of the hangar.
“Everyone to your positions!” he ordered as he ran.
He got to the guardroom and found Engel supervising two of the guards observing the security screens.
“What is it? How many?”
“Sir…they appear to be…”
“What? Appear to be what?” he asked insistently.
“Human.”
Becker arrived at Kelly’s side in time to see an eight-wheeled armoured vehicle roll into view with three soldiers sitting atop it.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“They yours?”
“That vehicle right there is 1st Armoured Division out of Hannover. Last I heard they were fighting a hundred klicks north of here. I didn’t think any of them would have made it.”
“Armoured Division? That’s light hardware for an armoured division?”
“Recon elements, it’s probably all that made it out.”
He smiled and rushed out to greet them.
“Captain!” Kelly shouted.
He stopped in surprise.
“Caution, always. We don’t know yet they’re who you think they are, or their intentions.”
Becker’s face turned more serious.
“We let you in without opposition, did we not?”
“And you were lucky we were who we said we were. It was a terrible breach of security, if you think about it.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that.”
He carried on to the main doorway and hit the open switch. The metre-thick blast doors slid open before Kelly could reach him and say another word.
“You know the 1st?”
“One or two, not many.”
“So how do we know who they really are?”
“Relax, Commander. You’ll live longer.”
Kelly knew Becker’s carefree attitude would get them in trouble some day. He had no choice now but to wait and watch, as the vehicle column rolled into their base along the same path he had taken. It was some relief to him that they clearly knew the same route he did, but he still felt uneasy about strangers entering their compound at such a dangerous time.
Eight vehicles rode in. Many had troops atop them. They all looked exhausted and demoralised. Several of the vehicles had substantial damage caused by pulse weapons; and a couple of them were missing one or two of their wheels and yet still moving. They drew to a halt, and the troops clambered off, and others disembarked from inside the armoured transports. Not one of them said a word, but a man who was clearly their leader stepped up to Kelly and Becker. Becker showed no signs of recognising him, and he bore no rank on his uniform at all. Of if he did, it was concealed beneath the thick winter coat he wore. He did not salute nor say a word as he studied Kelly for a moment, and the Commander did likewise.
Finally, he paced up and wrapped his arms around Kelly to embrace him as a friend, despite the fact he had no idea who he was.
“Major Klein, honoured to meet you,” he said, “1st Armoured.”
“Commander Kelly, formerly of the MDF, and presently of the newly founded Dragons.”
Klein looked at him with a strange expression on his face.
“Dragons?”
“That is what we call ourselves. We have come together from so many places that we have decided to throw off old names and start anew. We are united as one now.”
“Then will you have us? We have nothing more than what you see here. Will you let us in, and fight what’s left of this war together?”
Becker couldn’t believe their luck, but Kelly was still suspicious of any strangers coming into the camp. However, he looked around at the faces of Klein’s people. He recognised the grim despair on their faces and knew exactly how it felt.
“Will your people stand beside mine and give it their all? Will they fight to the very end, to make the enemy suffer, until their last dying breath?” Kelly asked.
“You can be assured of that.”
“Then welcome to the Drachenburg!”
There was no excitement at the prospect, only relief as Klein embraced him once again.
* * *
Taylor roared and rushed forward, leaping into the air towards one of the Mechs descending from the ship above. He fired a burst of rifle fire and struck it with his shield, causing it to tumble head first into the ground. He landed on one knee and saw another of the Mechs coming down right on top of him. He slanted his shield across his body and down the ground, held his rifle out beside it, and emptied the clip into the creature. Its lifeless body smashed into his shield and slid down the ground. He shoved it aside and got back to his feet.
“Mitch!” Parker shouted.
He looked over to see she was pointing directly above him. He looked up and saw three Juggernauts descending towards him on a triangular steel rig with thrusters built in. He rolled out of the way as it smashed to the ground, and the beasts were released.
Taylor let go of his rifle and drew out his Assegai, knowing it was the only weapon he had that was worth using now. The three Juggernauts all turned their attention to him, almost as if they had been programmed to seek him out personally. He circled them and watched their every move. He knew he was playing with fire now because he had barely survived against one of them.
Where are you, Jafar? I need you now!
One of the Juggernauts finally rushed at him, and he spun out of the way, but the beast lightly clipped his shield. As he spun, he tried to thrust with his Assegai, but the strike went wide. In the open ground they now fought, he was finding out just how fast they were in a straight line.
“Taylor!” he heard a voice yell.
It was Jafar. His deep tone was unmistakeable. He looked over. Jafar was brandishing one of the 50CMGs, and Abbot stood before him with one of the modified shields supporting the barrel. Taylor quickly ducked down, watching and listening as Jafar pulled the trigger. The gun was horrendously loud compared to anything they used as infantry. Shots ripped through the first Juggernaut and cut it down quickly. The other two quickly responded to the danger as their programming forced them to do so. They rushed towards Jafar.
The Atlantis aliens watched the situation unfold without moving. It was as if they did not fear the battle before them at all and only viewed it out of curiosity, trying to understand the history that had led to this point. Most of all, Taylor could see the one who had spoken to him watching Jafar bravely take on the Juggernauts and risk his life for Taylor.
Jafar struck down another with the heavy weapon, but it jammed as it overheated from the sustained fire. He let it drop and drew his Assegai as the last Juggernaut smashed into him and sent him flying. Taylor rushed on over to help. As he approached the Juggernaut, Jafar leapt up and struck the creature with a wild swing that hit it so hard it staggered back. As it did so, Taylor thrust his Assegai into its back.
The ferocious creature straightened and then swung around to try and reach him. He ducked under and turned in the same direction it was turning and stabbed again. It let out a scream in pain and tried once more to reach for him, but this time Jafar got a hold of the creature and stabbed into its head. It quivered and finally dropped dead. Taylor stepped aside in time to save from being crushed by the corpse.
He nodded in appreciation to Jafar who wobbled a little, and it was clear he was still weak. Taylor took a hold of him as he dropped to one knee. He looked over to the Atlantis aliens who still watched him above all else. They seemed utterly oblivious to the battle. Pulses ignited around them, and yet somehow they were not hurt. He was not sure if they were invincible to the weapons in use, or merely mesmerised by what they saw.
Taylor looked around. The other 50CMG was still blazing away but finally jammed. The crew got to their feet and drew their Assegais and joined in the battle. He saw Abbot get hit by two pulses and another two of Parker’s platoon struck down as she rushed past and engaged their attackers in hand-to-hand.
Hundreds more Mechs descended from the sky and more Juggernauts with them. Taylor knew it was far more than they could handle on their own. He looked back to the mysterious aliens who still watched the battle while their two robots stood idle like statues.
“They are the enemy!” he screamed, “Will you do nothing?”
The three looked at each other as if trying to find consensus. They eventually looked back and began walking towards him. Still they showed no concern for their own lives. A pulse rushed towards one and past through and struck the ground with no resistance at all, neither any damage.
‘They’re holograms,” whispered Taylor, “Just like Erdogan had been when he taunted me.”
He looked down at Jafar, who was down on one knee once again and clearly wounded badly.
“I do not know who they are,” he said, “But if you must give them my life in return for their help, you do it.”
Taylor shook his head.
“Not a chance in hell.”
He helped Jafar back to his feet and stood before the three aliens approaching them. He didn’t know whether to stand in defence or offer his hand in friendship. Either way, he could tell they were far more technologically advanced than either race and should be respected as such. They stopped before him and carefully studied him and Jafar once again. The one who had spoken before addressed him again.
“These animals that invade our world. They are not your allies?”
“No, Sir,” replied Taylor, “They are as far from allies as you can possibly get. We are fighting for our lives, and hopefully fighting to return to our homeworld some day.”
“And this creature who fights with you. You trust him?”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“Because he is my brother. He has been my brother since I met him. He has been through every hell I have been through, and been there every time for me.”
“And you would risk your life for him?”
“I would. I would for any one of my people you see here.”
He looked around at the battle still on going. His people were cutting down Mechs at an alarming rate, but more came to fill their place. He looked back to the three aliens, and they were still studying him. He pulled off his helmet and dropped it down by his side so they could get a better look at him. The air was putrid compared to what he was used to, but it was still nice to feel natural air on his sweaty face.
“All I want is for my people to be safe. We don’t want to take anything from you, but we will take everything we can from our enemies until the very last one of us still draws breath. You seem to hate them as much as we do. Will you let them carry on ripping up your planet?”
He prayed his pleading would have some result. He didn’t care for the future. All he cared about was then and there. Another fifteen minutes and they’d all be dead. One of the Mechs stormed towards him as he spoke. He ducked under as it thrust at him with its spear-like weapon and drove his Assegai deep before moving on to its comrade that followed soon after. He leapt over and turned until he landed on its back. Taylor drove his Assegai down into its collarbone, and it dropped dead beneath him.
“Please! Help us!” he shouted.
He saw a blade coming out of the corner of his eye and turned just in time for the impact to only brush his armour. Still it cut through and sliced deep into his arm. As he reeled from the pain, Jafar summoned all the strength he could and charged at the Mech and smashed it down. He punched at its faceplate until it shattered, and he struck through to its head; blood spewed out over his hands.
Taylor was on his knees, looking up at the projections of the creatures and held out his empty bloody hands.
“I beg you. Fight with us. Fight these invaders of your lands. We had no idea there were living creatures on this planet. But they did, and you know it. Help us, and we will leave here and never return. Help us to fight them!”
They looked at each other as if they were making their decision. Suddenly their projections vanished into thin air.
“No, no, no!’ Taylor howled.
He got to his feet and picked up his Assegai. He tried to lift a shield with his left arm, but it had no strength left at all. He staggered over to Jafar, and wrapped his good arm around him, and helped him up to his feet.
“If we’re gonna die, then we’re gonna do it on our feet!”
Jafar nodded in agreement.
They turned to face two-dozen Mechs standing before them. Taylor was aching so much, he couldn’t move without pain soaring through his body. It felt like the end. He wondered if this was how Chandra’s life ended. He hoped it had been as honourable. But it all seemed so pointless when there would be nobody left to remember it, and nobody left to benefit from it.
Taylor looked back. Ten of their own were dead now, and several others were wounded but still on their feet. Parker’s helmet was gone, and her face dripped with blood from a gushing head wound, and yet she smiled at him. She didn’t say a word, and she didn’t need to. He looked back at the enemy and felt the anger and adrenaline build until he felt a new power within himself.
Enough to make it a good end, he thought.
“Immortals!” he yelled, thrusting his Assegai in the air to spur them on.
He was just about to move when the two robots around them suddenly sprung into life and turned on the Mech horde. Flashes of light impacted among them as they were cut down in their droves. Three more of the robots arose to the surface and joined the fray, and then one of the black skinned aliens appeared before him. He recognised it as the one he had appealed to. This time he somehow knew it was real and not a hologram.
It said nothing but simply stared into his eyes as if studying his every emotion. It looked back to the enemy and then leapt into action. It moved like the wind and almost floated across the ground with no resistance at all. It fired as it approached. Every single shot met its target. Every shot killed one of the enemy, and in a flash, it was in amongst their ranks. A few seconds later, it was joined by the other two who had appeared with it moments before.
“Charge!” Taylor screamed.
He rushed forward at the head of his troops. The adrenaline pumping through his veins made him forget all the pain he felt, and hope returned to his thoughts. He no longer strove for a good end, but to end every enemy daring to stand before them. Jafar carried a shield before the two of them as they advanced. The first Mech they reached turned its pulse cannon towards them, but Jafar struck it down with his shield. Taylor went past, stabbed it through the chest, and carried on without a second thought.
Taylor turned to face another opponent when he found himself looking down the barrel of a Mech pulse cannon. As the charge lit up in the barrel, he knew he had no time to move. Morris leapt in front with his shield and glanced the strike. Taylor couldn’t believe his timing. It was stunning to watch as the Captain rolled forward and drove his Assegai up to its hilt. The Mech collapsed, and Morris turned to see if he was okay.
“This fight isn’t over, Colonel. Come on!”
He looked around at the robots running amok through the Mechs. They stamped on some and blasted others with their arm-mounted weapons. Then he saw a flash of light, and the Atlantis aliens cutting a path through the creatures, as if they were gods fighting mere mortals. He could not help but stop and watch, as one of them darted in and out of the Mechs with such precision he had never seen. And yet it never touched the Krys with its own close quarter weapons like they did. It ducked and weaved, firing from its arm-mounted weapon, and they could seemingly never catch it.
Taylor looked back to Parker and those of his own people who were not actively fighting, as they stood over the vanquished enemies at their feet. Not one of them had a rifle in hand any longer or any ammunition left to load one. They carried their Assegais and shields only and were coated in the blood of their enemies.
“We don’t die here today. They do!” he screamed, “Let’s finish this!”
He rushed forward with a dozen at his side and collided with the ranks of the Mechs. Taylor thrust his Assegai from one to another. Jafar used all the strength he had left to protect him from every strike that came his way. He stabbed from left to right in a frenzy that he couldn’t even control. Soon they were stepping over bodies to reach the their next victims. It was the kind of blood bath he welcomed with open arms.
Just ten minutes later they stood along the top of a mass of bodies. Forty-one of the two platoons still stood, and the three aliens who had fought them and the towering machines they controlled. They looked up at the vessel in the atmosphere above. It was being hit by shards of light that were weapons on the ground none of them could even see.
They awaited the vessel to be blown apart when a light flashed above, and it entered its own jump gate. It was still burning from the vicious hull damage. Taylor looked back across the open plain of the old city on the surface. It was scattered with bodies now, and far more of the enemy than theirs. Just one of the robots had fallen to the Krys to join the one they had felled earlier.
Taylor paced over to Jafar. He was once again down on the ground. He could barely stand, but he tried to get up as Taylor approached.
“You risked everything for me?” he asked.
“No, I did not risk it for you. You are one of the Regiment. I protect the Regiment, and to do so is to stand beside every man and woman who fights for it.”
“So you would consider me one of your own? After all you have been through?”
“I will take each man and woman on their own merit. The day a horde of those Mechs turn up and offer their services, I will accept them with open arms,” he jested.
Although he joked, he knew deep down he would certainly consider it if they turned up and offered as such. Taylor slumped down and sat on the body of one of the fallen Mechs, realising how little he had left in him. He had to put effort into breathing. Morris approached and looked remarkably full of energy.
“You’re getting old,” he joked.
“Yes I am,” replied Taylor, “but not too old to see this through.”
He knew he wasn’t that old yet, but he felt it. So many years of brutal combat had destroyed his body, and he was starting to feel the effects of the brutal treatment. Parker stepped towards him. The blood on her head was starting to congeal, but she appeared to have no other injury. She dropped her Assegai and fell down to wrap her arms around him.
“I thought we were dead for sure,” she wept.
“We may be yet.”
She pulled away from him so that she could look at his face and saw that he pointed with his eyes to the aliens they recently met on Atlantis. She had completely forgotten about the fight with their robots. It was all coming back to her now. She looked back to Taylor and shook her head.
‘We can’t fight them.”
He nodded.
“We have enough trouble and enough enemies to fight. We cannot manage any others,” she added.
‘Then let’s not make enemies of them.”
“If it isn’t too late,” said Morris.
Taylor looked to his side. The Captain had been standing beside them the whole time.
“You did well today,” said Taylor, “Worthy of a Captain in the Immortals.”
“Just worthy?” he said with a smile.
“More than worthy. You fought like a lion. You reminded me of a friend, a brother. A brother I lost to this war.”
“I am not that man.”
“No, you never can be, but you can be another brother to me. There is no limit.”
Morris nodded in appreciation. He knew in that moment he had finally been accepted as one of their own, in not just rank but ability also. He sat down on another of the bodies, as if it were some great relief lifted off his shoulders. Taylor reached over and touched his shoulder.
“You are as a brother to us, as Commander Kelly is a brother to me.”
“If he still lives.”
“Whether he lives or not, does not matter. He is a brother of mine. Though between us, if any man on Earth can survive the invasion of Erdogan, it is Kelly.”
“You really believe that?”
“I do, don’t you?” replied Taylor, “Honestly tell me he would just give up or walk into his own death? No. Kelly is a resourceful man. If we ever get back to Earth, I’d bet good money he’ll be the one, still there and standing on the smouldering ashes of his enemies.”
“If we ever do,” Parker sighed.
“We thought this could ever replace Earth?” Taylor asked, “Who were we kidding? We were born to live on Earth. For whatever reason, we were born there, and it is ours. It always will be. And I intend to find a way to get back there and reclaim my home.”
“How?” Parker asked.
“It’s nothing more than a pipe dream,” replied Morris.
Taylor looked over to the three aliens stood awaiting him. The Immortals had formed around him in a standoff against them and their robots. But they all knew they could not stand against the power of what they had seen.
“You saw how they looked at Jafar,” Taylor added.
“And yet they sat by and watched as we fought and took their merry time before joining in?” asked Morris.
“I don’t trust them.”
“They were judging us, Parker. Waiting to see our response to the Krys. And Jafar here probably threw a spanner in the works. No wonder it took them time to come over. Wouldn’t you? Most of our own race don’t trust Jafar, so why would they?”
He turned to Jafar. He was starting to regain his breath but was still at only half his strength.
“They hate your kind, much like our people do. Is that a problem for you?”
Jafar shook his head.
“If they’ll fight with us, I do not care.”
“And if they don’t want to fight with us, and they want to kill and remove us from this world?” Morris asked.
“Then we’re probably f*cked, Captain,” replied Taylor.
He turned and looked at the three who seemed to be waiting for him to approach them. He didn’t want to step any nearer than he already was, as he respected and feared their power.
“So here we are. Another alien race to come between us and the enemy we have fought all these years? We cannot afford another enemy. We can only hope they will either let us leave, or they join us.”
Taylor stood up and took a deep breath, realising once again he had become a politician while in the service as a fighter. He was the only one among them willing to go forward, and it was his command anyway.
“We don’t know anything about these…things.”
“No, Eli, and they probably know nothing of us. Perhaps they are as wary as us, as we are of them?” Morris asked.
Parker looked to the robots standing beside them and shook her head.
“Don’t think so.”
“Only one question remains,” Taylor said, “This fighting here today, us and them. We fought together. But were we merely allies of convenience, or are they willing to go further?”
He staggered forward, feeling the pain in his body as he told himself to put one foot in front of the other. Not one of the three aliens moved as he approached by himself.
“I am Colonel Taylor. I want my world back that those creatures took from me. All I want is to see them die and have my world back. I see you hate them just as we do. Will you fight with us?”
They looked at him for some time and then turned to each other. They seemed to communicate with their minds alone. Taylor felt his legs give out and sat down before them.
“I don’t wish to fight you. You tell me when you have an answer. Tell me if you will help us save our Earth.”