opened up from friendly forces nearby. Suarez rushed up to her with his rifle at the ready.
“They got the drop on us, and they’re trying to sneak in!”
“What?”
She was in shock. It wasn’t the sort of tactics she had ever seen or heard of being used by the enemy.
“Our scouts caught sight of them a minute ago!”
She lifted her rifle and rushed to the defensive wall. She’d stationed herself besides Warren and his commandos. The Major was already on top of the wall, taking carefully aimed shots.
“Give me an update!” she yelled.
“A few dozen lightly equipped hostiles breached the perimeter, nothing we have seen before. They’re agile, fast and sneaky.”
Tsengal jumped up beside them and had just heard the last few words.
“They’re cave people, primitive in their lifestyle but good hunters and faster than most. They lack much of the strength of my people, but they are well suited to many tasks.”
“Closest thing to scouts we have seen yet. That’s what we’ll call the bastards,” replied Chandra. “Have you killed any?”
Warren nodded.
“A few, but the rest of the sneaky bastards have taken cover amongst the rubble and bodies. We can advance and try to flush them out.”
Chandra looked to Tsengal for advice.
“I would not recommend it. They will lure you into traps and divide your number. The best defence against them is to stay strong in number behind these defences.”
“Alright. Warren, have this information and my orders passed down the line. I want sharpshooters present and active at all times. Maybe we can’t hunt them down, but we can sure knock a few heads off when they’re good enough to present them.”
‘Yes, Ma’am.”
Several shots rang out behind their position and she turned quickly to see one of the new enemies darting back behind cover. The shots skimmed the armour of a fallen creature, but the new one went unharmed.
“Hold your fire!”
The troops turned in surprise at their Colonel’s command.
“They’re baiting us. Trying our defences, expending ammunition. I want allocated sharp shooters only. The rest of you are to keep your eyes open and spot for future attacks! Pass the word!”
“Can I have a word?” Warren asked.
She nodded in agreement and gestured for him to follow her to a quiet spot around a corner towards the CP.
“What is it?” she asked hastily.
Warren could tell she was highly strung, but he could not wait any longer.
“They aren’t coming for us, are they? Not the fleet, not the General, not Major Taylor, we’re on our own, aren’t we?”
Chandra took in a deep breath and looked away. She didn’t want to answer that. She didn’t want to have to tell him, nor admit their situation to herself. They were deep in the shit, and there seemed little to be done about it but fight for every minute of life they could.
“Maybe, maybe they’ll come, maybe we’re on our own. I just don’t know anymore.”
Her voice became shaky, and Warren could see she was close to tears, but they would never come, no matter how bad things got. She was too strong and too dignified to ever be seen crying, as much as her heart might want it.
“So yes, this might be the end for us. We may never leave this shithole planet ever again. How do you want to end, crawling on your hands and knees, or like a hero?” she asked.
He looked deep into her eyes and righted himself, realising she would not show an ounce of weakness. It was not in her. He stood twenty-five centimetres taller than the slight Colonel and substantially broader built. It made him feel a slither of shame that she never doubted them in their darkest hour.
“I’m not going anywhere, Colonel.”
“No, none of us are by the looks of things.”
“I’ll stand by you no matter the outcome, as will every one of the men and women under my command.”
“It was never in doubt. You’ve done sterling work under my command, just as I know you did through the first war. You were brought here for a reason, Major, because you’re a damn fine officer commanding some of our very best.”
Huber stood in a daze again as he looked at the wrecks floating in the space around the gateway. Engineers and repair ships were working hard to patch up the ships that could be saved. Taylor could tell he was not used to seeing such carnage. He had not borne witness to the epic bloody land battles that had plagued much of the world in the first war.
“Do you think General White will be successful in convincing the powers that be to support us?”
Huber shook his head.
“I don’t know anymore, Major. Maybe if they knew what had happened since he left the system. If they could know we have held this far. If they could see how bravely our people fought, then maybe.”
“We should at least send a messenger through the gate and update them on our situation.”
“We have strict orders not to use the gateway, except in need of complete withdrawal.”
“Sir, those orders have been given by people who are not here. They don’t know what we’ve seen, what we have faced. Information is key here. They need to know.”
Taylor could see that Huber was losing faith in their endeavour. Depression was overpowering the great officer, and Mitch felt it was the restraints placed on the Admiral that were reducing him to such a state.
“Why would they send us out here if they weren’t willing to support us?”
“Come with me.”
He led Taylor through to his quarters. Mitch had gotten used to loathing going into the room, as he knew it likely meant bad news that had to be concealed from the rest of the crew. He poured out two glasses of whiskey and sat down with the sigh of a physically and mentally exhausted man. He slid one of the glasses over to Taylor.
“No thank you, Sir,” Taylor said sternly.
“We live in such fearsome times. Humanity nearly reached its end before our very eyes, and now here we are, on the raggedy edge of a hostile system with our backs against the wall. I think a drink right now could go a long way to keeping a man from going mad.”
Taylor looked down at the glass and could feel his lips wet at the sight of it. He’d remained stone cold sober since they came through to Tau Ceti, but maybe the Admiral was right. He picked up the glass and took a sip of the smooth scotch. Huber smiled and finally began to address his questions.
“The honest truth is that few world leaders supported this endeavour. A committee of Army, Navy and Marine and Air Force officers, such as myself and White, petitioned to the President to allow us to come here.”
“Wow, you really pushed for this?”
“It may not be a pleasant experience, but it was the right thing to do.”
Taylor was starting to understand what that meant for them all. They didn’t have even half the support he thought they would.
“Getting this fleet together was a massive undertaking, but we were not promised any additional troops. All of the senior officers in this fleet volunteered. They all knew the risks, and yet chose to follow me. General White is not so much going home to report our findings, but to plead for backup.”
“My God, we pushed into enemy territory with no support. No supply network, no hope of reinforcement?”
“No hope? Look at how far we have come, from the near end of the world to faraway lands.”
Taylor dipped his head into his left hand. Once again they were being pushed around like chess pieces, worth nothing more to the player than their moment in time.
“Do you believe White can get us the support we need?”
