Eddie turned with a pained smile but was clearly exhausted.
“Kato make it?”
“He’s with the medics, right now. Hurt bad, but I think he’ll make it.”
“Good.”
“More than I can say for my new gal.”
Taylor looked puzzled.
Eddie nodded and gestured towards the wreck of a copter. There were several holes in the fuselage, the cockpit was smashed, and half of the undercarriage was destroyed. Taylor shook his head.
“How on Earth did you get out of that? Better still, how did you even land it?”
“She’s my gal. She was always gonna get me through this.”
“Pipe down!” a shout came out from one of the officers who had arrived ahead of Schulz to welcome him. Taylor turned in scorn to glare at the officer who stood triumphantly on the docking bay as if he’d won the battle, when in reality, he’d only arrived a few minutes ago.
The shuttle came to a smooth landing, and Schulz was first out of the door to a roar of excitement and cheering. Taylor wondered why anyone bothered, or was it just expected? Few of the Inter-Allied there showed any emotion at all besides being a little bored.
General Schulz quickly made his greetings to Kelly and the other officers, and then headed right for Taylor, ignoring Chandra who stood at his side.
“I hear you have two of the enemy elite troops, bodyguards of one of their leaders? Well done, you must have them transferred to the MPs immediately. They could be very useful.”
Schulz tried to turn and leave before Taylor could utter a word, but he was forced to stop upon the Major’s response.
“Negative, Sir. They stay with us.”
The General glared at him in astonishment, but he also knew he must be more careful with Taylor than their previous confrontation in France. He opened his mouth to speak, but Taylor jumped in before any words were spoken.
“They have already been welcomed into the Inter-Allied and have proven their worth among us. They fight with us, and they stay with us.”
Schulz wasn’t sure whether he was more surprised at Taylor’s insubordination once again, or the fact that he was defending alien forces.
“Are you trying to tell me they are fighting by your side against their own?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Chandra interrupted as she could see the situation was going sour.
“They not only saved two officers’ lives, but proved invaluable in the defence of this station, Sir.”
Schulz thought about it for just a moment, leaning in close to Taylor so that his entourage could not hear.
“While you keep fighting and getting results, you’ve got a certain leeway, Major, but make no mistake, this is on you. If they fuck up, if they kill our own, or if they compromise a mission in anyway, it’s your balls on the line.”
Schulz leaned back and smiled as he looked into Taylor’s eyes with arrogance.
“Always is, Sir,” replied Taylor.
Mitch thought they had overcome at least some of their differences, but Schulz appeared to be back to his usual unlikeable self.
It could be worse, thought Taylor.
The General continued on until he reached a small podium that had been set up for him so that he could address the gathered crowd. Most had fought the initial attack and defence of the station, but those who hadn’t, stood out like a sore thumb with their pristine uniforms.
“Today we took the first step in reclaiming our solar system. Earth is ours once more, but we will not stop until this solar system is totally ours once again. It’ll be another eight hours until we can get the rest of our forces ferried here. Until that time, I want you to take some rest, and ready yourselves for tomorrow. For tomorrow, we go to the Moon and drive the alien bastards from the colony that rightly belongs in human hands!”
Clapping echoed around the spacious docking bay until Schulz called it to a close.
“I want all command staff to meet in thirty minutes in the newly established CP at Hall 2B, floor six. From there, we can thrash out our intentions for tomorrow. Have your troops rest easy, but I want watches set by all units throughout our stay here. Thank you all.”
Thirty minutes later, Taylor and Chandra stood alongside more than thirty other officers as Schulz hashed out his plan. It was simple, but there seemed no other options.
“I know this isn’t the most complex plan in the world, but we have little intelligence to go on. However, we have Commander Kelly along, and he and his people are intimately familiar with their former homeland. We strike the Lunar colony with everything we have. We use overwhelming force and strength of number to bring this battle to a close. By tomorrow evening, we’ll either be celebrating our victory or heading for Earth with our tail between our legs. The latter is not an option!”
“Sir, the Parliament building?” asked Kelly.
Schulz nodded in agreement.
“Yes. Commander Kelly has rightfully asked for the honour of re-taking the administrative capitol. However, he will need an additional battalion to support his efforts, do I have a volunteer?”
Taylor turned to ask Chandra, but her hand was already raised. It sent a shiver down his spine to know she was right there with him.
“We’ll do it, Sir.”
Schulz looked quickly at Chandra and then straight on to Taylor. He was surprised the Major did not voice any objection.
“Commander?” he asked Kelly.
“It’d be an honour to have the Inter-Allied covering our backs.”
“Alright, Inter-Allied will breach here, half a kilometre west of Kelly’s forces, and they will encircle the Parliament buildings. They may not mean much to our enemy, but to our people they are vital. You all know what you have to do. You have until 0800 hours. Catch some rest.”
Chatter rang out throughout the room as the officers dispersed. Kelly quickly pushed through them to catch Taylor on the way out of the CP.
“Major, may I have a word for a moment?”
Taylor turned back to Chandra for clarification.
“It’s alright, I’ll see you back at our post in a little while.”
Taylor followed the Commander around a corner to a quiet spot. Kelly didn’t appear to present any threat to him, but curiosity made Taylor’s mind run wild with what he might have to say. They were finally out of earshot of the passing troops, and he whispered carefully.
“When you hunted Demiran down, I know Lieutenant Perera was involved too. I know you both got to that docking bay, and I know he didn’t make it out alive. I also know his actions earlier were counterproductive to our operations and insubordinate.”
Taylor sighed and tried to answer, but Kelly cut him short.
“Perera hated you. We both know it. All I want to know is if his death could have been avoided. Are you a man I can trust, and are you the man that your reputation would imply?”
“I hope so, Sir. Perera did not die at my hands, but only because I was unable to defend myself in that moment. He’d have gunned me down, there and then.”
“Then I am sorry. Sorry that one of my own could do such a thing. Please let us put this all behind us. You have already convinced me of your worth. Pull this mission off, and you will gain the respect of my people.”
“I wasn’t looking for it, Sir. I never have. I have tried to do everything I can in this war and continue to do so. If people don’t like me, that’s their problem, not mine.”
Kelly smiled. “You’re a true warrior, Major. I am only glad you are on our side.”
Kelly turned and left Taylor. He was glad of the Commander’s support. He’d almost been stabbed in the back once that day, and the last thing he needed were enemies on his own side.
