Chapter 7
Captain Reynolds looked nervous as they rode on, with Corporal Berlin looming over them on the back of Kelly's truck.
"Relax," Kelly said, "she's the least of our worries."
"Maybe. How do we know these people are even friendlies? How do we know they won't just strip us all our weapons and supplies?"
"Gotta have a little faith left in humanity, Captain."
Reynolds said nothing, but Kelly was confident they were at least being led to a sight he was familiar with. They were on a straight road, and with no signs of a way off, when Kelly suddenly turned calmly in towards the thick foliage of a line of trees. Reynolds got anxious and sat back upright in his seat, expecting to feel an impact at any moment.
"What are you doing?" he pleaded.
But it was too late. They brushed the branches aside, and it seemed there was no resistance at all. Reynolds was speechless as they passed through a column of trees that looked like they had been grown as the boundaries of some kind of road. It was broad enough even for a tank to pass down. They carried on for a few moments when he finally got up the courage to ask.
"So this is the place?"
"One of them. There was always a chance Earth forces wouldn't be able to win in open battle. Just as we knew it when we fought on our home soil. Those with a little foresight planned ahead as much as they could."
"How many people know of these locations?"
"Not many."
Ahead there appeared to be another impenetrable wall of trees and foliage. Reynolds smiled, expecting them to go through it as they had the last one. However, twenty metres before they reached it, Kelly veered left through an opening. They began descending down an almost hidden route that took them under the surface and between a rock formation, in what had to be a man-made tunnel.
Another fifty metres, and they were in a clearing between rocks and thick forest once more. Two soldiers were standing guard ahead but stepped aside on seeing Berlin wave them back. Overhead a semi-transparent canopy stretched out across the trees that seemed to camouflage the position from the sky. Armoured vehicles were parked up and partially concealed around the opening, and they could see a bunker entrance of concrete built onto the side of a huge boulder.
Several of the vehicles had taken hits and were in various states of repair, with crews working in a relatively casual manner at the jobs. Half a dozen of the crew were at the entrance to the bunker; they were sitting about in chairs, smoking and relaxing. Kelly ran his truck all the way up to their position, but none of them moved a single centimetre. He got out and looked around. He found they were a force that appeared to be completely lacking in morale.
Nobody came to greet them or even acknowledge their arrival. Kelly got out of his truck and paced up to those sitting outside the bunker entrance.
"Who's in charge here?"
No one responded.
"I am Kelly, former Commander of the MDF forces."
"The what?" asked one of the women in a thick German accent.
Kelly could see Reynolds take offence at the statement, but he held up his hand to stop him from speaking any further.
"Years of fighting, our colony is old news," Kelly whispered to him.
He looked back to the group and tried to identify a rank, although most were wearing overcoats and tankers jackets with nothing on them at all. Others wore civilian garments. It was no surprise; the cold was certainly setting in.
"We didn't come here for your charity," stated Kelly, "We were fighting these aliens before any of you ever saw one or had a name for them. We know what it’s like to be abandoned, and we know what it's like to lose your home. So don't give me that sullen, miserable silent treatment because I've seen it all before. Been there myself, and I didn't like it the first time. We came here to fight, and we will. So who the hell is in charge here?"
One of the men finally looked at them and spoke up.
"Right now, I am. The Colonel is wounded and undergoing treatment. Maybe he will make it. I do not know."
"And you are?"
"Lukas Becker."
Kelly squinted. He recognised the name and then looked a little closer at the man. He had never met him, but he remembered the description well.
"Captain Becker?"
The man nodded in surprise.
"Colonel Taylor sure told me a few things about you and how you fought together."
Becker suddenly jumped to his feet and extended his hand out in friendship.
"You knew Taylor? How?"
"Know him, still."
"Then he is with you?"
Becker looked around in excitement, as if he expected to see Mitch in one of the vehicles.
"No, but last I saw him he was leading the exodus off world. I have every faith in the fact he still lives. We know the fleet made it."
Becker shook his head.
"I hope he made it. I really do. But I'd still rather he was down here with us. No matter what we went through, when Taylor was with us, we always made it okay."
He took a seat back down beside his comrades.
"So you want to fight?"
"We do. It's all we have left to do in this world," replied Kelly.
"As acting commander of this...whatever we have here...outfit, I will accept any soldier who is willing to join the fight. But just remember, this is not a refugee camp. Everyone contributes to the fight, somehow or other."
"There are no civilians anymore, Captain. You're a fighter or you're a dead man."
Becker nodded in agreement.
"Then let me show you inside."
* * *
Taylor ran as if his life depended on it. He knew he could probably survive through what the Mechs were attempting, but he was not willing to condemn thousands to die.
"Slow down!" Parker shouted, "You'll get us killed!"
He did not respond. He knew if he kept going they would all follow suit, whether they liked it or not. Moye got ahead of Parker and was gaining on Taylor who looked back in surprise.
"Don't let this be for nothing!" he yelled.
Clearly Taylor's words had gotten through to him.
Taylor said nothing but rushed on. Jafar had pointed the direction, and he’d simply gone until he heard otherwise. As he took a bend, he crashed into several others and was brought to a standstill. He raised his Assegai in shock but was delighted to see he had run into King.
“Colonel? You’re alive?”
Taylor looked surprised by the fact, but he had no time to enquire.
“Follow me!” He carried on, and King rushed along at his side.
“Where are we going so quickly?” the Ranger asked, “These corridors are death to those who do not show caution!” he added, still carrying on at Taylor’s pace.
“We have bigger problems, right now.”
They ran like the wind. As they got close to the engine bays, they heard just a few shots, less than they would have expected. The corridor opened out to the engine bays where they found one of their own dead and five Mechs around him. They then passed a number of consoles and terminals and several more bodies of the enemy until finally Taylor stopped in his tracks. Morris was standing over the last Mech there and drove his Assegai down through its faceplate, deep into its body, to the cheers of his men around him.
Taylor had wanted to trust in the former MDF man but worried he would never be up to the standard.
Marines, paras, and rangers, and here a militiaman has done us all proud, he thought, and it brought a smile to his face.
“You did it, Captain!” Taylor said.
Morris turned, surprised to see them looking upon him.
“Is the room secure, are the engines safe?”
“They are, Sir.”
Taylor sighed in relief. It was a strange feeling to not be the one coming to the rescue, and yet he welcomed it. It was nice to have someone else he could depend on. Morris seemed to revel in the bloodshed, but not in a bloodthirsty manner. He celebrated their triumph and success. He was a very different man to Jones, and yet, had already proven more than he first seemed.
“What are your orders, Sir?” King asked.
Taylor looked around at his own people. Fifty of them stood there. He prayed more had survived than that, but he was starting to understand King’s fearsome expression and terror when they had met.
How many have we lost? He could not bear to ask and risk breaking the morale they had.
“Morris, you and your platoon are to stay put and protect this area until I say otherwise. Moye you head back to the bridge and secure it. The rest of us, it’s time to sweep and clear. There are still Mech sons of bitches aboard this ship. Not one of you shall rest until they lay bleeding out before you. The battle is over. Now we are the hunters. Split into ten-man squads, and NCOs take charge. Hunt those bastards down!”
The room quickly emptied, and as he paced out the way he came in, he realised he was left with only the five he had before.
“You ready for some payback?” he asked the three Privates.
“Yes, Sir!” one of them replied with conviction.
Taylor leapt forward and led the way. He had no idea where he was going, but it didn’t matter. He was going wherever he could find an enemy alive, and that was all that mattered. He reached one of the main living quarters. Bodies were strewn about the place, and blood splattered across the walls and frameworks of the beds.
The accommodation reminded him of their new quarters aboard the Washington, but the lines and columns expanded as far as the eye could see. It seemed that thousands of people had lived in this one vast billet room alone, and about three-dozen bodies lay on the floor ahead.
"Poor bastards," said Parker.
"Yeah, but that ain't many. Not nearly as many as I might have expected."
"They must have run when the Mechs came."
"No, they'd have bottlenecked at the exits and been cut down. They must have been elsewhere or scattered throughout the ship."
"We can hope."
Taylor went forward and stepped between the bodies. He could see Mech footprints left in the blood, so at least knew he was going the right way.
"How many more of them do you think are on the ship?"
"Can't be more than a few dozen now, I shouldn't think, Parker."
"It's a big ship to cover with what, a couple of hundred marines at most."
"Yeah. We've done the hard work. It’s time we got some help to mop up."
He reached an exit and took a turn back towards the landing bay they had first arrived at. Just at that moment, he saw a Juggernaut racing at him like a raging bull. Before he could react, he was tugged out of the way, and it stormed past unable to stop itself. Taylor looked behind. Jafar had been the one who saved him from being flattened.
"Thanks."
Jafar nodded and stepped out into the corridor in plain view of the Juggernaut that had now turned back. It was stomping its feet as it closed the distance. Taylor leaned around the corner and emptied his magazine into the centre body mass, but it did nothing. The Mech continued towards them at a slow and relentless pace, in the arrogant knowledge that it was invulnerable.
"Go on," Jafar said, "Go and signal for reinforcements."
Parker went to move, but Taylor said, "No."
She looked at him, confused.
"We fight together, always. No one left behind."
He drew his Assegai and stood in the side corridor, waiting for Jafar to engage the beast. The Juggernaut began to gain pace, but nothing like the sprint it had been at before. They could hear the pounding impacts of metal as its feet landed, and it made its final charge at Jafar. But their alien friend did not take it head on. He stepped aside and smashed his hand into one of its legs so that it was thrown off balance. It fell face first into a tumble and crashed down the corridor.
He did not wait for it to recover but leapt after it and landed on top of the beast. He thrust down to stab it in the back, but as he did, the creature turned over quickly and struck out with one of its arms; smashing him against the bulkhead so hard the metal supports buckled. Taylor rushed to his friend's aid and smashed the creature’s arm with the rim of his shield. It was trying to swing for Jafar once again.
The Juggernaut appeared to make no attempt to fire its arm-mounted weapons. They could only imagine it was out of ammunition after all the killing. Next the beast swung towards him with a straight punch. He held up his shield, and the impact landed above his shield arm and snapped the shield in two. It at least took the worst of the impact, but the fist still struck his helmet and snapped his head back. He staggered backwards.
Taylor felt blood trickle into his mouth and spat it out onto the floor beside him. He shook off his wrecked shield and looked at the Juggernaut with disgust. It was waiting for them to make the next move.
"This son of a bitch is going down," Taylor said firmly.
He knew he couldn't beat it with strength against strength. It was time for something different. Parker watched in horror when Taylor rushed at the creature, as if he were going to tackle it head-on. The Mech swung right for his head but at the last moment, he ducked to the side and under, thrusting his Assegai into the joint below its right arm. He carried right on past as it clumsily stumbled with blood gushing out from the wound.
Before it could gain its footing, Jafar leapt onto it and thrust his own Assegai down deep from above its shoulder joint so that the wound would meet with Taylor's. The creature jerked, feeling the pain. Jafar wrenched at the arm until it was ripped from the body, and blood squirted out across the wall. The Mech roared in both agony and anger that echoed throughout the corridor. It came back at Jafar with a clumsy but powerful strike.
Jafar backed off a few paces and finally thrust his Assegai at the wrist of the Juggernaut as it swung widely. The blade pierced right through before being drawn quickly back out. Before the beast could recover, Taylor ran forward and slid down on his knees and thrust up into the abdomen. His Assegai was embedded up to the hilt, but he lost his grip as he went past.
The Mech was still standing, and now Taylor was unarmed. He looked down and saw the creature’s arm that Jafar had torn off lying bloody on the deck. He reached down and picked it up with both hands. The thickly armoured limb must have weighed as much as Mitch did himself. The Mech came charging at him, but he swung the arm like a club and aimed low. The impact struck the side of the Juggernaut's knee, and it buckled and fell against the wall.
Taylor did not let up. He swung the arm around his head to gain momentum and smashed it down with all his force. The Mech raised its left arm to protect itself, but it was beaten aside. He swung the arm around once again over his head. He held it at the forearm and used the shoulder pauldron as a weighted end as if it were a mace. The impact struck the heavily armoured faceplate, and it cracked on impact.
Despite the damage, the Juggernaut drove towards him once again but was halted as Jafar's Assegai drove deep into its back. It spun around and reached for him, but Taylor took another swing at its other leg with all the strength he could muster. Its leg was knocked out from under it, and it went down like a tonne of bricks.
Taylor would show no mercy. He lifted the arm, smashing it down again and again as the beast tried to get up, but he could tell it was being drained of life. Finally, the sixth strike smashed it down, and he could see it was almost finished. He dropped the arm and looked around for Parker.
"Blade, Eli!" he screamed.
She tossed him her Assegai without hesitation. Mitch caught the blade, and in one motion spun around, and with both hands on the grip drove it down into the cracked faceplate, forcing it in deep. The creature was finally silenced. Mitch got back up to his feet, realising he had utterly exhausted himself in the fight. His knees were weak. His thighs were on fire and close to having gone rigid. He looked back and smiled at Parker, with blood between his teeth and dripping down his chin.
Parker didn't know whether to applaud or chastise him for his reckless behaviour. He turned to Jafar, who looked far more approving.
"Very good," he said in such a straight fashion, it made Taylor laugh.
"Good? Damn, what more were you expecting?"
"Next time we face one of these Juggernauts as you call them, we must kill it faster."
Taylor nodded in agreement.
"God knows how, but we have to find a way. We barely managed to take two of these things down. No wonder the Lo Yang’s marines were slaughtered."
He threw Parker's Assegai back to her and reached down to draw his out from the corpse.
"If Demiran had used these, then the last war could have been a very different story."
"Wars are not won by one thing alone, Parker," Taylor answered her.
"Except you, perhaps."
He looked back and she was smiling.
"If it was all on me, then we’d have failed, but it wasn't."
Without another word, he went on down the corridor. As he did so, he holstered his Assegai and loaded a new magazine into his rifle. He prayed they would not face another Juggernaut, for he knew that one had almost killed him.
They carried on to the landing bay and found even more civilians squeezed in than before, and a few stragglers from the Ho Lang marines at the entrances guarding them. Despite the hundreds of people, there was little sound, beyond the cries of a few young children. The access door of the Mercury opened, and Rains stepped out to greet them, showing his astonishment at their condition.
"Looks like you've been through hell, Colonel."
Taylor said nothing but simply squeezed his way through to get to Eddie. He stepped up onto the wing and leaned in to speak privately with him.
"Have you got comms back yet?"
"Nope. Still jammed."
"How can you get a signal to the Washington?"
"I'd have to fly out beyond the reach of the jammer."
"Then do it."
"Well, okay, what am I telling them?"
"Tell them the ship is saved, and that we are conducting a final sweep of the last of the enemy."
"That all?"
Taylor nodded and climbed off the wing.
"Everyone back!" he shouted.
No one questioned him this time.
Eddie was off the deck in just thirty seconds. Taylor wandered over to where his own people stood awaiting him, leaned against the bulkhead, and collapsed down onto his ass. He had nothing left in him. Not an ounce of energy.
"You did it, Mitch."
"Was there ever any doubt we wouldn't, Eli?" he replied.
* * *
Kelly stood at the entrance to a barrack room, not unlike the one Taylor and his people had been given on the Washington. He knew that space would be tight in the bunker complex, but he was glad to have a reinforced roof over his head and heavy armour at the door.
"You knew about this place all along?" Reynolds asked.
"Since it was established, yes. Although I'd hoped to never have to make use of it."
"Once again, we're underground and living in caves. I remember this all too well, and how it went last time."
Kelly nodded in agreement. It certainly brought up some painful memories.
"Last time we lived like this, we had the help of Earth forces. We had supply runs, weapons, ammo, and the hope of somewhere to flee to. What do we have now?"
"I told you when we began this, Captain. We aren't here to survive or win. We exist now only as a weapon. We live to make alien life hell. That is all we can do."
"Do you think that is enough to keep our people going?"
"Has to be. The alternative is death, and that option can be taken anytime you like. Just go for a walk, and death will soon find you."
"Commander Kelly?" a voice asked.
He turned to see it was Corporal Berlin.
"Formerly Commander, not any longer."
"Then what are you?" someone else asked.
Becker strolled in behind her and stopped in front of Kelly, awaiting an answer.
"Retired."
"No longer. I'm the ranking officer here, as you know, and that goes a long way to showing how bad things are. But I am a tank commander. We have stragglers from a few infantry regiments here but nobody above a Lieutenant, and even she is little more than an admin officer who's spent her life filing and clipping her nails."
"Lieutenant Engel!" he called.
A short, thin woman appeared at his side. She had almost perfectly kept blond hair and not a mark on her skin. She wore fatigues that looked like they had never seen a speck of dirt, but she was shy, and that showed in her body language.
"We have to make do with what we have. What we have here is you two, a clerk and an old retiree."
Kelly could not disagree.
"But that is what we have, so f*ck it, we can't complain. We have to get on with it. I need an infantry commander, and you are the most combat experienced infantry officer we have. As an officer of the...I don't even know what I am an officer of anymore, I lead whatever we have here, right now. Kelly I am giving you a commission to the rank of Captain, and you will report directly to me."
Kelly didn't look surprised. He could see Becker was more than a little burnt out by it all and needed someone else to shoulder some of the responsibility. He didn't want it, but he knew he had to take it. Becker turned to Engel.
"She is yours now, your problem. Make a soldier of her."
Becker turned and left in a casual manner, swigging from a hip flask as he strutted away. Engel studied Kelly's every move and expression. He could see in her eyes that she was more than a clerk, or at least had the potential to be more.
"Ever fired a rifle, Lieutenant?" Kelly asked.
"Not for a few years, Sir."
Kelly smiled. She could not have been more than twenty-five, meaning not since officer training.
"Don't worry, you will soon enough," he replied. He looked to Corporal Berlin. She stood almost a head taller than Engel and with the build of a strong man.
"Corporal, your armoury here, is it still stocked?"
She looked confused.
"I am not aware of an armoury, Sir."
Kelly smiled.
"Then follow me."
He led the way, and Reynolds and Engel paced after them.
"Sir, I was led to believe this was a fallout bunker for use by civilians and government officials in the event of emergency," said Berlin.
"Not really, Corporal. This was built as a base of guerrilla operations, should our bases and cities fall. Just as they have, and just as we are now doing."
"So we are not getting off this planet?" Engel asked.
Kelly looked back and was surprised. The young Lieutenant looked more than a little disappointed.
"Those who got off this world, you forget about them now, Lieutenant. I like to think they have made it somewhere safe. Somewhere they can rebuild and start over. But I'd bet money none of us ever see them again. This world has been left to us now, and we're on our own."
Kelly led them from one room to another, and it was clear to them all that he knew exactly where he was going. They passed a few personnel on their way, but it was largely empty.
"How many people do you have here?"
"At last count, three hundred and fifty four. That was before you arrived, Sir," Engel quickly replied.
"Then we must have about doubled your strength."
Finally, the room opened out into a large atrium five metres high. Corridors were either side of them, but up ahead a large mural depicting Taylor's defeat of Demiran. It was an overly heroic and motivational illustration that almost made Kelly laugh. He continued right up to the mural and touched it. His touch revealed a hidden access pad that extended with a palm reader.
"What is this?" Berlin asked.
"This is what's gonna keep us in the fight, Corporal. Where we just came from, that was merely the back door. Welcome to Bunker Drachenburg."
He placed his palm on the reader, and a moment later, the mural split in two and retracted into the frame around it. Blast doors behind that opened soon after, and they were all left mesmerised at what they saw. A vast underground hangar stretched for half a kilometre and was lined with armoured vehicles and weapon stores. Thousands of Reitech suits lay in racks along the lengths.
"Wow," said Reynolds.
Kelly led the way forward. After all they had been through, he could see it was to them like walking through winter wonderland.
"How, how is this possible?"
"You see, Corporal, there is hope, just not in the form you would have expected it. We don't have ships. We don't have a way out of hell. But we do have a tonne of hardware and a capable army willing to use them."
"I need to get Captain Becker down here, Sir."
"Then do so."
The Corporal quickly got Becker on the comms, and Kelly overheard it all.
"Sir, Captain Kelly has found resources down here that you are going to want to see."
"Just catalogue them, Corporal. That'll be all."
"Sir, it would take me all week to catalogue what we have down here. It's beyond belief. Everything from ammunition to main battle tanks."
"What? I didn't hear that last part!"
Taylor smiled as he could hear Becker finally take Berlin seriously.
"You heard me, Sir. You need to see this for yourself."
It took Becker just five minutes to reach the entrance to the hangar, and he stopped on finding the entrance.
"How did we not know about this?" he asked.
"Guess it was need-to-know," replied Kelly.
Becker took a few paces forward and stepped into the hangar with two of his tank crew. They were astonished by what they saw.
"Before I was a Captain, I was a Commander," said Kelly, "I never wanted the job it turned out to be. When I signed up, being a Commander meant keeping order on a peaceful moon with a small colony. But times changed. We all changed."
"Sir, Captain Becker!" a voice cried.
They turned to see a man run frantically into the hangar and then stop in shock at what lay before him. It was such a surprise that he forgot why he’d even come there.
"What is it, Private?" Becker hollered.
"Uhhh....Sir...Sir...the Colonel. You need to come quickly."
Becker rushed out and followed the Private, and the others followed suit. They were led to the medical wing where they found Becker's commander lying on a bed with two medical staff stood over him. Becker went right to the Colonel's side. The Colonel was weak. Kelly didn't recognise him and did not even know his name.
"You're gonna make it, don't worry," he said, looking up at the two medics. They shook their heads.
"Don't give me that. The Colonel has to pull through this. Do something!"
"We're medics, not doctors. We have done everything we can for him."
"So what, that's it?" Becker shouted.
The Colonel reached up and took his hand, and that silenced him.
They all waited for the Colonel to speak, and finally he managed to at barely more than a whisper’s volume.
"It's okay. I'm done. You know I am."
A tear dropped down Becker's face. It was the most emotion they had seen since arriving. He had appeared such a cool and calm officer. Perhaps too calm and carefree Kelly had thought.
"Who's this?" the Colonel asked.
"Kelly, formerly Commander of the MDF."
The Colonel smiled and then looked back to Becker.
"Then you are in good hands. Trust him."
The Colonel took his last few breaths and finally passed. Becker was at a loss for words. Kelly could not help but feel surprised that his last words were in support of himself. He had never met the man, but Kelly could see he meant more to Becker than being his superior officer. Becker looked up to Kelly as more tears streamed down his face.
"How did you know him?" he asked.
Kelly shrugged. "I am sorry, but I have never seen this man before."
"And yet he trusted you."
Kelly shrugged once more. He was not able to explain it.
"He was my brother-in-law. The only family I had left," Becker added.
"Then I am sorry, truly, but he was not the last of your family."
Becker looked up, not understanding him.
"Your brother-in-law, you say?"
Becker nodded.
"So of no blood relation, and yet you called him family?"
"Yes."
"He was family because you chose to consider him as such, did you not?"
"I did. Always hated him for years and look, now I cry over his loss?"
"You made him your family. I am making you my family," added Kelly, "We have all lost the ones we love. We are all in the same boat. We might as well be family now, and we will fight and die as a family. I will call you a brother, Becker. Will you do me the same honour?"
He stretched his hand out in front of Becker and over the body between them. Becker had to think on it for just a few seconds before taking Kelly's hand and embracing him as a friend and brother.