Authors: Nick S. Thomas
“It was the kindest thing to do. Kept alive, they’d be lab rats for scientists. They’d be poked, prodded, injected with poisons and experimented on, like they did to us.”
“And you don’t think we could have taken prisoners?”
“Maybe someday, but not now. This is a war of uncertainty. Chandra, she showed pity on them and ended their misery.”
Taylor thought Jones had finally overcome his ordeal, but it was clear it still weighed heavily on him.
Perhaps he is right.
Taylor thought.
He remembered the squalid and disgusting conditions he had found Jones in so long ago, and imagined what it could have been like.
Would it have been kinder to have been killed there and then, when he was captured?
Maybe, but then Jones wouldn’t be here today.
“You think General White will return with the armies we need?” asked Jones.
“How’d you know that’s what he is doing?”
“Oh, come on. This is total war, not a few skirmishes. We all know this opening operation was just a test. The real fighting is yet to come.”
“We should have just destroyed the gateway and be done with it,” muttered Taylor.
“They said it couldn’t be done?”
“Bullshit. I know Reiter, and he could have found a way. They don’t want that gateway destroyed because they see opportunity; politicians and desk jockeys who don’t ever have to carry a rifle and bleed and die to pursue their goals.”
“You really believe that to be the case? You think Earth leaders would risk it all?”
“Of course. Curiosity has got the better of them, and we have to pay the price for that. This war is long from over, years from being over. They say we won the first war, but the truth is it never ended. While that gateway remains, and both our civilisations exist, there can be no peace.”
“I thought I was the cynical one. You’ve made two friends from their race. Why not more?” replied Jones.
“Don’t get me wrong. I am glad to have them, but I think we are a world away from convincing any others to join us. And even if you could, they would never be trusted. Jafar and Tsengal have enough trouble as it is, and they proved themselves to me personally. No, I think that is a unique situation which we will not see repeated anytime soon.”
“Is there no way you could convince the powers that be to close the gateway for good?”
Taylor shook his head and rolled it around. His neck was stiff; he was aching from inactivity.
“Maybe there is a chance if we ever get back home, but what am I? Just a combat officer, not an adviser to Command, or to the President, or to world leaders.”
“No, but you hold more power than you believe. That statue in Paris, it’s of you, you defeating Karadag. It is you people think of when they remember the soldiers who won this war.”
“Soldier? I’ll be a marine for as long as I live.”
“You know what I’m saying. People know your face, and they will listen to what you have to say.”
If indeed Jones was right, Taylor knew it was an immense amount of responsibility being placed on his shoulders to act in ways he had no experience of.
“I will do everything I can when we return home.”
“And you think that will be anytime soon?”
“We either lose here and run for home, or we win and the problem is no longer apparent.”
Jones breathed out a weary sigh.
“You’re just a paragon of positivity this evening.”
The next day they sat around the operations table as they listened to a live report being given by Chandra from Red 1. The distance between them caused a delay in the signal of almost ten seconds, but it was small enough to still communicate live. She stood next to a block of cylinders standing twenty metres high.
“Reiter says this is where the air is coming from. They somehow generate a mix not so different to what we have on earth. They are drawing it from ice lakes far beneath the surface. In fact, they pump enough into the atmosphere to make it tolerable in short doses. He now believes that within the confines of the colony, we should be able to breathe for prolonged periods without concern.”
“What do you define by prolonged periods?”
“Years of breathing this in to cause a problem,” she replied.
Huber rubbed his chin as they all thought about what they were seeing and hearing.
“At every turn the creatures seem more and more like us,” Taylor said.
“Yes. We have also found an interesting few pieces of technology that we have not seen before, on top of the Goliath we encountered. I want to send Doctor Reiter back to the fleet with his findings, so he can continue his work in a safer environment.”
“Affirmative, Colonel. He is more than welcome back aboard the Washington.”
“I’ll have him on his way within a day.”
“Have you any recent sightings of the enemy?” asked Huber.
“None, Sir, but we are ready and prepared for them, should they try and retake the colony.”
“Good work, Colonel.”
“Sir, I have to ask. It seems we’re being left out here as bait. General White has returned to Earth. What are his and your intentions?”
Taylor smiled that she didn’t pull any punches, yet remained polite whilst doing so.
“You know as much as I, Colonel. I believe, based on our success, we will be reinforced within a few weeks. At such time, we will continue into enemy territory. Any more questions?”
“No, Sir.”
“Keep us up-to-date with any finds, Huber out.”
The transmission cut off, and the Admiral turned to Taylor.
“You see, Taylor. She’s doing just fine. A damn fine officer that one.”
Taylor knew he had no choice but to settle back into normal life on the Washington. They were light years away from home, and yet were being order to lay idle as if there was no war.
“Sir, what kind of recon and fleet protection details are you currently running?”
“We have scouts out five ten kilometres in all directions. Fighters are on two-hour flybys. We’re ready for anything. I hope you will be to.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Taylor didn’t let up on his guard duties and drills. He had eight hundred under his command, with those of Inter-Allied and the ship’s own marines. They might as well all be marines, considering their recent posting. The more he navigated the carrier and carried out drills, the more he realised it was simply not enough in the event of a major boarding action.
The ship’s crew would have to become combat ready in the event of such an attack, but he knew they lacked much of the equipment. They had spare Reitech weapons and ammo, but without the exoskeleton suits, they had to be treated as heavy weapons on mounts and tripods. It was better than nothing but far from ideal. He had several Navy heavy weapon teams stationed around the bridge on a permanent basis. The design of the ship had made them all believe the Command Centre was safe from all but catastrophic failure or destruction of the ship, but recent events had proven otherwise.
When they left Earth, the fleet felt invincible. Their quick victory had only fed the ego of the crew, and that worried Taylor more than anything. Huber understood the risks and knew they just got by in their first battle, but he couldn’t bring himself to sour the morale of the fleet by pointing it out.
Taylor prowled the corridors of the ship, expecting to find an enemy intruder at any moment. His attitude amused many aboard, who arrogantly believed they were superior to their enemy. Taylor knew a battle was coming. He knew it would be brutal, and he knew there was nothing more he could do about it.
Chandra stood by a drone they’d become accustomed to seeing in combat with the enemy. It was partially disassembled and parts she had not seen before lay nearby. Tools and component lay everywhere, as well as a storage room filled with another dozen inactive pieces.
“Looks like they were trying to modify and upgrade,” she said to Tsengal.
“Yes, I have not seen some of these components.”
“This whole planet seems to be devoted to the development of weapons. It’s not what I’d expected to find.”
Tsengal looked at her as if to ask why but did not speak.
“Throughout this entire war, we have been researching and evolving our equipment, more so in two years than the last two hundred. I just didn’t expect to find them doing the same.”
“Our former leaders underestimated the humans. A mistake they are rapidly trying to correct, by the looks.”
“Back on Earth, we found scores of humans, or what looked like humans in some kind of incubation chambers. Do you know anything of them?”
He shook his head.
“I am sorry, Colonel.”
A transmission came in to her personal comms link.
“Colonel Chandra. Colonel Chen is requested your presence at the CP immediately.”
Her curiosity turned to concern. She had been waiting for bad news for days.
“Come on let’s go!”
She took to a running pace. Several of the troops they passed on the way turned in surprise and reached for their weapons. They could all see it was serious, and yet even she didn’t yet know the reason for such an emergency. The two of them rushed into the Command centre that they had established in what seemed to be the docking bay control room.
Passing through the guards and the entrance, the Colonel could already see the worry in the faces of those waiting for her. The three Battalion commanders were all gathered around a table that had a map of their area displayed. She rushed up to them without a word, looking to Colonel Chen for answers.
“We have confirmed sightings of the enemy, Ma’am.”
“What’s their strength?”
“Unknown, but it’s not small. They’re coming right for us. At their current speed, we have about eight hours until they arrive.”
“We should prepare our defences,” Major Warren added.
Chandra nodded in agreement. The Commando officer was thinking exactly as she did.
“We’ve got what, less than three thousand troops? Enough to hold off a scouting party or small assault, maybe more with the terrain here. But if they come at us hard, like we have seen so many times...” continued Chen.
Major Klimenko’s fist smashed down on the table like iron. It made them all jump in shock. The Russian marine stood taller than everyone in the room, except for Tsengal, and his cold fearless expression spoke a thousand words.
“The time for giving up ground is over!” he boomed. “We will spill their blood on their land.”
Chen shook his head in disbelief.
“How can you...” he continued.
“Enough!” Chandra shouted. “We came here to fight, so I don’t want to hear any talk of bugging out. We have no idea what we are dealing with yet. We have a strong position here, with enough troops to defend it.”
The room went silent as Chen swallowed his words.
“There may come a time when we have to turn tail and run, but that is the very last resort. We’ve been ordered to defend this colony, and we will do so until we are no longer able.”
“Suicide? That’s what you are asking of us?” asked Chen.
Chandra took a deep breath. She knew Chen was a good man and a solid officer. She didn’t want to insult him.
“You fought hard to save the Moon Colony, against all odds. That battle assisted all of us on Earth. As important as that fight was, so could this one be. If we do not stand in the face of the enemy, who will?”
Chen accepted her words, as he knew there was no chance of changing her mind.
“At least request assistance from the fleet,” he pleaded.
“I will do so, but no matter their answer, our task is set. I know the breaches we made here have already been sealed, but I’d like them checked and reinforced if need be. You all have your areas marked out. I’ll attach myself to Major Warren’s commandos for now. You have a good few hours. Let’s make this as defensible as we possibly can.”