“I know,” he replied.
“I’ll admit I am a little curious. Let me know anything interesting that you discover.”
The two of them stepped out of the room where a dozen soldiers were stood either on guard of the room or awaiting the Colonel as her protection. She quickly left with her entourage, leaving Taylor to the interrogation. It was the first communication they’d ever had with the enemy, but it had seemed of little importance once their intentions were clear.
“Hall, get two others and join me. I want you to have your wits about you at all times.”
“On it, Sir.”
Taylor stepped over to the entrance where Parker and another guarded the entrance.
“Watch your ass in there, Mitch.”
“Don’t worry, I will.”
He opened the security door and stepped inside with the three marines at his back, their weapons raised and ready to fire at a moment’s notice. The three creatures sat at the far end of the cell and didn’t respond to the presence of the troops. He couldn’t tell if they had simply given up and accepted their fate, or if they were biding their time for the right opportunity to strike.
The holding chamber was eight by five metres and allowed them to keep a good distance apart. In the centre of the room was a table with four chairs. Taylor strolled forward and took the nearest seat. The enemy officer looked up and into the eyes of Taylor. He could see some kind of pipe rising around the creature’s head from around the suit and into its nostrils. He imagined they couldn’t breathe air alone.
“My name is Major Taylor, 2 ^nd Inter-Allied Battalion.”
The creature still glared at him but had not moved. It finally opened its mouth and spoke in the same deep and coarse voice that Taylor had heard before.
“The slayer of Karadag.”
The creature was relaxed and confident.
“I was there when he was defeated, yes.”
“How? How could you, weak and small, kill a hero?”
Taylor’s eyes squinted, and his face crunched up in anger.
“Your Karadag was a genocidal maniac. It was an honour to see him to his end.”
The beast went silent as it dipped its head and seemed to reflect on his words. Taylor marvelled at how human the creature seemed. They were so different to humans, yet they seemed to have so much in common. Taylor could read the same body language and interaction as if the beast was human.
“Who are you?” asked Taylor.
“Demiran, leader of the 62 ^nd Group, and honoured to be of Karadag’s kin.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. He wondered why the creature had not yet tried to kill him, knowing what he now did. It made him clench his fists and grow more guarded and ready for anything.
“Why did you surrender to us?”
The creature sat up tall and proud.
“You gave us the chance to live, did you not?”
“We don’t kill those who do not fight against us.”
“Then that is your mistake.”
Taylor smiled. “Need I remind you of who is winning this war?”
Demiran looked away as if shamed. Taylor could tell the leader’s guards were confused by the whole conversation. They could clearly understand what was being said, but not why.
“Can there never be peace between our two races?”
“Yes, when we rule your planet.”
Taylor shook his head. He’d always hoped that peace could be negotiated, but he had not yet seen any evidence that it was a possibility.
“What are your people’s intentions now?”
“Is is not already clear?”
Taylor stood up quickly in frustration at the lack of co-operation.
“How many soldiers do you have on the Moon?”
Demiran glared at him, and it was clear an answer would never come.
Taylor turned in frustration. I wasn’t born for this shit. We need an interrogator, he thought.
He paced out of the room and returned to the station HQ to find it was now a hive of activity. Kelly and Chandra were busy chatting over a briefing table with four other officers. The Commander noticed as he entered.
“Major Taylor, join us please.”
Mitch could make out the insignia of the Moon colony forces on two of the officers, and they glared at him as if he were the enemy, but Kelly welcomed him with open arms.
“Did you get anything from the prisoners?” he asked.
“Nothing useful, Sir. He is a relation of Karadag. I don’t think he’ll give me anything.”
Chandra’s eyes widened. “No, you might be able to use that to your advantage.”
Kelly thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement.
“It’s true. His anger towards you could let certain information slip, so keep at it. Now, we’ve secured the station, and Earth has been notified. So far, we have eight dead and thirty-four wounded. It’s a solid start. We’ve got eight hours until the main fleet arrives. Most of the ships will be civilian and unarmed, so it is vital they have a clear run.”
“Commander!”
Doyle, Kelly’s comms officer spun around in his chair and frantically called out. The Commander turned as the man blurted out the news.
“Sir, we’ve got incoming!”
Kelly rushed over to the man, and the others stood anxiously awaiting more information.
“Several dozen ships are approaching from the Moon.”
“My, God, how long do we have?”
“At the speed they’re travelling, maybe two hours.”
Kelly turned in horror. He quickly snapped out of it and strode back to the table where the other officers were stood in shock.
“What do you reckon they want? To destroy the station or take it back?” he asked.
“They must have occupied it for a reason,” replied Chandra.
“And we have Demiran,” Taylor added.
Kelly looked at the Major with a puzzled expression for a second before he clarified.
“The enemy officer we captured.”
Kelly shook his head. “To hear their names, it almost makes them feel like a human enemy.”
“Sir, we must hold this station, or there is little hope of taking back your homeland. Let alone the fact we cannot let a sizeable enemy force loom over Earth.”
He once again snapped out of his daze and turned to the Colonel.
“Of course we must defend it! Captain Morris. We were hit by a defence grid installed by the enemy on our approach. Figure out where it is and get it working. Chandra, get all combat ships flying, and have them take up defensive positions around the station. Taylor, you’ve successfully faced off against these bastards more than any of us. I want you to liaise with all other officers on organising the defences. I’ll return once I have reported to General Schulz.”
The Commander turned and quickly rushed off to Doyle to organise an urgent transmission he would take in a private room. They all knew what it would entail, a desperate bid for support at all haste. Chandra left the table also to go about her business, and Taylor looked up to several confrontational faces. The Earth officers among them admired him, but the Moon Defence personnel despised him to the core.
“Perera, is it? Can you bring up a map of the station?”
The Lieutenant obliged but remained silent. A few seconds later, a digital 3D model of the station was projected above the table up to chest height.
“We still don’t know the enemy’s intentions. If they mean to destroy this station, then we best hope the Navy
