since the battle, and Jafar would not leave his Major either.
“Major, we’ve got a visual.”
He nodded for the Captain to go ahead.
A projection flickered, and several gasps rang out as they realised what they were looking at. Taylor felt his stomach turn, when he realised over a hundred enemy vessels surrounded the planet. Transports were pouring down to the surface. He could see no signs of battle but knew it must still be ongoing beneath the surface. They all gazed open mouthed at the frightful sight for a minute when a transmission came in from Uxbridge.
“Admiral Uxbridge to all ships. Come around, full withdrawal!”
Ryan nodded to his crew to carry out the orders, for he could not bring himself to say the words and resign thousands of comrades to their fate on the enemy world.
Fuck! Taylor thought.
They had gotten so close. The planet was in sight, and yet there was no chance of getting through to Chandra. He could not believe they had made it so far only to turn back.
“We could still…” began Jones.
“It’s over,” cut in Taylor.
“We’re just going to leave them there?”
Taylor did not reply.
“Major! This is Chandra we are talking about!”
Taylor turned quickly and grabbed Jones by the collar of his body armour and wrenched him in close.
“Don’t think I don’t want to, but it would be folly to throw our lives away. Do you think that is what she would want?”
“I know she wouldn’t want to be left behind to the mercy of those bastards!”
Taylor shook his head.
“What would you have us do?”
He spun Jones around so that he was looking at the video feed of the planet and the enemy forces in orbit.
“Look at them! What can we do against that?”
Taylor could feel Jones go limp. His anger was replaced with sadness and desperation as he slumped against a console and lowered his head. They could see several dozen of the enemy ships engines fire up and pursue them. It was enough to pose a threat in itself, let alone the remainder of their fleet.
“The Colonel will do her duty, just as I expect every one of you to do so.”
“So they’ll die down there, and for what?” whispered Jones.
“Look at the time we have gained for Earth. We’ve smashed two fleets that were amassing. Destroyed much of their weapons research and development. We’ve held them in their own lands. Every day we gain for Earth could make a difference in what comes next.”
“And you believe that? You believe we are making a difference?” asked Jones.
“You are,” replied Jafar.
They all turned in surprise at hearing the alien’s inception into the conversation. He stepped forward to continue.
“My people believed they were the most powerful beings in the universe. Every victory you gain weakens them. They are beginning to see they are not all powerful, and that they might not win this war. I saw it the day I joined you. Continue as you are, and you may well win the war yet.”
The alien’s words had a profound effect on Jones. It gave him hope and did the same for all of them there. For most of them, it was the most words they had ever heard the alien say, and yet they appeared words of wisdom. He continued on.
“The Colonel is a brave warrior, and I can say I have been honoured to fight alongside her. Even now, in the face of armies so vastly larger, she battles on. She should be an example to us all.”
The bridge fell silent once again as they reflected on his sentiment. The sights they had seen were dire, but he gave them all hope and the desire to fight on with a new sense of pride and belief in themselves. Taylor looked into the eyes of his alien friend and nodded in gratitude.
Warren’s commandos were formed up at the next line of defences that lay at the entrance to the docking bay. It was a relatively narrow corridor and would only allow the Mechs to advance fifteen wide and without cover. The ramp they had to descend before reaching flat ground meant that few could fire on the human defences at any one time.
Troops continued to flood into the docking bay, as others tossed anything they could find onto the makeshift wall. Many had left their shields behind in the frenzied retreat. They waited now for the enemy to reach them. Chandra turned to look across the hall to the other two entrances that were guarded by Klimenko and Chen’s Battalions. They looked even more decimated than Warren’s forces.
They had less than half of the troops they had when the battle begun, fifteen hundred dead or dying. It was a level of brutal devastation they had not known since the war in France. She turned to see Warren was reloading his rifle at the frontline of the defence. He looked exhausted, and his helmet had taken a glancing strike by a pulse that had burnt into his visor. Chandra strolled up to the Major, and he looked up to her as she approached.
“There’s no leaving this world, is there?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“If this is to be our fate, let us make them pay a bitter price for it.”
She smiled in return. The courage and resolve of all those around her was a marvel to behold.
“Here they come!” a voice cried out.
She took up position beside Warren, and each lifted their rifle into place.
“Come on, you bastards!” screamed one of the commandos.
The clatter of the Mechs’ heavy footsteps roared up ahead and echoed from all the walls.
“Fire at will!” she shouted.
The first dozen of the enemy were cut down instantly. The next wave stepped over them and fired their cannons as they advanced. Several smashed into the mound of the defences in front of the Colonel, and she felt the wall rock and the heat rush through. She quickly adjusted her aim and fired two bursts into the faceplate of the first target she acquired.
She kept firing until her magazine was empty, leaping back to let another take her place as she reloaded. She looked at the supply crates that had been stacked for them. Most had their lids ripped off and were now empty. She looked to Warren who was thinking the same thing. Ammunition was being spent at a rapid rate.
“How much longer can we keep this up?” he asked her.
“We’ll fight to the very last bullet, then we’ll fight in hand-to-hand. I’ll fight with my bare hands before I lay down and die.”
“I fear that time may come.”
She slammed in a fresh magazine and jumped back onto the defences to keep up the fight. There were plenty more of Warren’s commandos who could have filled the gap, but she wanted blood.
The volleys from the humans were so rapid that it was hard to differentiate one shot from another. It was a continuous roar of gunfire that would have stopped any human army dead, but the Mechs never stopped. They never seemed to grow tired, scared or demoralised. Chandra personally killed another four before retiring once more to finally let someone take her position.
She looked around for Tsengal, but he was nowhere to be seen. Then out from a side room, he strode in with a massive heavy weapon of enemy origins. It was slung over his shoulders, and she could tell he was struggling with the weight. He was stronger than any of them, even with their exo suits, which meant it must have weighed a tonne.
“You know how to use that thing?” she asked.
“We’ll see.”
He rushed forward, and two of the commandos quickly shifted out of his way to let him slam the vast weapon up onto the wall. The only time she had seen such weapons was mounted atop the enemy’s armoured vehicles.
I never thought I’d be pleased to see one again.
