from either side of its entrance. One of the women leapt back to reload, and Chandra ducked in beside her.
“How many?”
“I saw a dozen, but there must have been many more with them.”
“They’re going for the CIC, and we’re blocking their path,” she replied.
“Yes, Ma’am.”
“We cannot retreat, and we’re fighting both ends. Whatever happens, do not let them pass!”
The Private nodded in horror. The Mechs were still advancing relentlessly, no matter how many they cut down. The Colonel got to her feet and retreated to her previous position where she found Jafar joining in the action.
“Something’s got to give,” stated Taylor.
“When you were out there, Mitch, how many breaches did you see?”
“Three for definite, maybe four.”
“Then we must have now encountered three of those assaults. We must hope Grey got to the other.”
“This was a grave underestimation of the enemy strength. Somebody made a big God damn mistake,” Taylor shouted.
“You got that right, but we’re giving harder than we’re getting. As long as we can stop the bastards getting into the CIC, we will still pull through on top.”
She pulled a grenade off her armour and placed her hand over the arming cap.
“You think we should be using those here?” asked Taylor.
“It’s far from ideal, but the alternative is far worse. I’ll take the chance.”
She twisted the cap and launched it rigorously down the corridor, ducking quickly back around next to Taylor.
“Fire in the hole!” she yelled.
They hunkered down and counted the two remaining seconds before an ear splitting explosion rang out down the corridor. The walls at their backs shuddered violently. If it weren’t for their enclosed suits, they’d already be deaf. For a moment, Chandra sat motionless in shock at how the enclosed corridor had intensified the grenades impact. She didn’t want to look around and see what damage she might have caused to the fleet’s prize vessel. Taylor laughed at her shocked face.
“Right on, Colonel!”
He stepped past her and peered down the corridor to see four Mechs lying dead from the blast. Several others were badly wounded or incapacitated. Chandra leaned in to see the result and breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Pass the word. Use the grenades.”
Taylor rushed off down the line and continued to relay her orders until he reached the other end of the platoon, where the troops were still firing frequent bursts in an attempt to stop the Mechs. He peered around to see that they had gained another ten metres on them. He pulled out a grenade, primed it, and tossed it down the corridor.
“Christ!” one of the soldiers shouted out, and they ducked back.
The explosion sent vibrations through the walls again, and Taylor just prayed that any collateral damage was worth the result. The enemy corridor went silent for a moment, but it was then filled by another grenade exploding further down and punctuated by a hail of Reitech rifle fire. Taylor looked back down the troops alongside him.
“Hold your fire, lads. That’s friendlies coming in.”
He peered around the corner to see the last of the creatures cut down by dozens of rounds. Several rushed past and hit the wall close to the Major. A few moments later, he could make out the silhouettes of Exoskeleton clad troops jogging down the passage towards him. Lieutenant Grey was at the forefront.
“That’s some damn good timing, Lieutenant!”
“Thank you, Sir. We’ve dealt with one of the other assaults already, but we believe there is still at least one in the wind.”
Taylor pointed down the corridor.
“At the other end of here, trying to fight their way to the CIC.”
“Shall we…”
“Damn right.”
Taylor stepped confidently down the corridor to the Colonel with Grey’s Company close behind. She turned and marvelled at the reinforcements and the realisation of where they had come from.
“Alright, lads. Let’s cut these bastards down!”
She lifted her rifle and stepped out in the corridor in plain view of the enemy. The broad corridor allowed many more of the troops to flood in and open fire in a brutal onslaught. They walked towards the enemy, cutting down all before them. In just thirty seconds, they had killed twenty of the beasts and were still advancing forward as most of them changed their magazines. A bend up ahead concealed the rest of the enemy force who were engaged in a brutal battle with the defenders at the entrance to the bridge.
“We need to watch the crossfire,” Taylor whispered.
“I know, got any grenades left?” replied Chandra.
“Just one.”
He looked across to the others and could see three others still had some high explosive.
“Anyone with grenades. Be ready to use them!” Chandra ordered.
Taylor turned and walked backwards, so he could address them.
“Friendlies on the other side, beware of their fire and of your own!”
As they reached the corner, one Mech turned the bend, trying to either fix or reload his cannon. Chandra fired six shots into its chest without hesitation, and Jafar let off a single bullet into its head.
“Grenades!” Chandra roared.
Taylor led the way, pulled out his grenade, waiting with his other hand on the firing cap. Four others joined him.
“On three. Three, two, one.”
They twisted the caps and launched them all around the corner. Chandra knew it was a risky strategy, even more than the first few they had used. The massive explosion rumbled the corridors, sending shards of metal into the air that embedded in the corridor wall in front of them. The heat was enough to feel even through their suits.
Taylor immediately drew out his Assegai and leapt around to finish off any that were left alive. Just five creatures remained standing, two of which appeared stunned or hurt. He rushed the first one. It was disorientated, and he drove his weapon into its stomach and high up through its body. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Chandra leaping forward in a similar manner.
One of the creatures swung its weapon around, but it was too slow and clumsy. Taylor ducked under with a nimble roll and drove the Assegai into the armour at its thigh. The Mech tumbled over, almost crushing him. He ripped the weapon from the beast’s leg and blood gushed out across the deck. He reversed the Assegai and drove it down into its faceplate.
He stood up and turned to see that the enemy were done for, and all attention had turned to his personal combat. The thick dark blue blood he had become so familiar with poured down his gloves and armour, though he could not feel it.
“All clear?” called Chandra.
The silence was broken by footsteps and the troops parted. Taylor stood up and took Chandra’s side as he saw Huber step through to greet them. He wore a pistol on his side but was as steadfast as ever. He stopped for a moment and looked around at the carnage the battle had created. Several of his staff rushed in with extinguishers to put out the small fires the grenades had ignited. Huber shook his head at the wreck the flagship had become.
“Sir, all known enemy assault craft have been accounted for, but there could yet be more,” stated Chandra.
“Thank you, Colonel. The battle is over. We have destroyed or disabled all enemy craft. Our comms are still being repaired, but we know the Endurance, Chicago and Helena are gone. Many others have received severe damage. The Washington is still under her own power, but we will need weeks of repairs before we can get back
