Battle Earth VI

'I think your chance will come before long.'

Jafar turned away and followed the wall, constantly looking up and down. Taylor wasn't sure whether he was following some hidden signs or completely lost, but he dare not ask. Eventually, he stopped, reaching the vent to what appeared to be a duct system. It was a metre square at most.

'Seriously? That's the 'secret access'?' asked Jones with scepticism.

Jafar pulled open the vent but did not climb in. Instead, he put his arm in, reaching up as far as he could. A second later, there was a hiss like gas escaping, and a door swung open a metre further along. Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. It was the first sign that the plan might actually work.

'Not that I doubted you, but holy shit! This is like some hidden King’s corridor in an old castle,' Jones grinned.

'Precisely. It is entirely mechanical and powered by compressed gas, allowing the doors to be activated even if the power is down. This will take us about thirty metres and far inside the perimeter they have set.'

Taylor stepped cautiously towards the doors, considering the fact they were committing everything they had into one corridor with only one way in and one way out.

This could be our valley of death, he thought.

'Are you positive nobody will know we are here?' he asked.

'Demiran will not think for a minute this access has been compromised. Last he saw I was loyal to him. He must think me dead, if he has given any thought at all to Tsengal and me.'

'You saved his life when we first met, did you not?'

'Yes, but that will mean little to him. As far as Demiran is concerned, every Krycenaean owes their life to him.'

'Nice,' Taylor replied, gesturing for Jafar to lead the way. Jones stayed at the back to see the door shut after they were all inside. They stepped quietly along the passageway, not knowing what lay either side of them through the thick walls. They reached the far end without incident, but then came the time to enter into an unknown area. Taylor had his rifle at the shoulder, and Jafar reached for the door, counting down with his finger as he had been trained to do.

The door swung open, and Taylor stepped out quickly. He expected to have to fight his way out of the doorway, but there was nothing. Not a single sign of life. He signalled for the others to join him.

'How much further do we need to go?'

'Just another hundred metres should do it.'

'Should?'

Jafar nodded.

They continued on down a broad corridor with four metre high ceilings. Tracks lay along the floor that looked as if they were some kind of tramline for moving heavy goods. They covered half the distance they needed when they reached a bend. Time was short, so they blundered on without checking blind corners. As they took the bend, shock nearly stopped Taylor's heart, and they came to a halt. A dozen Mechs were marching towards them. Their weapons were lowered, and it was clear they were as surprised as each other. Neither moved for a few seconds.

Jones was the first to fire, and it was the signal for the others to join him. Outnumbered three to one, the Mechs didn't stand a chance and only managed to fire off a few pulses before they all lay dead from the devastating volley. Taylor looked back, and to his amazement and delight, they had not taken a single casualty.

'That was as much luck as anything.'

None of them were in any doubt. They were just glad to be alive.

“This is the entrance to one of the main crossroads of the tunnel system. Your nuclear weapons will yield maximum effect here.'

'I can't believe we're gonna get away with planting these. How are they not on to us yet?' asked Jones.

'They will be,' replied Jafar. 'That gun battle will not have gone unnoticed. We have to hurry.'

They got to a jogging pace. The corridor opened out as Jafar said into a huge five way crossroads with a domed roof. It was completely empty, but Taylor noticed the tramlines from every corridor converged at centre.

'Why is there no one here?'

'This is a main storage facility. Everything stored here will have been loaded ready for the weapon.'

'What does it fire, this thing?' asked Jones.

'I have no idea. That is a secret Demiran and his ancestors have kept well guarded. That secret maintains the power they have.'

'Then it will die with him,' replied Taylor.

'We can only hope,' Jones added.

The nukes were carried into the crossroads area. Jafar was pacing around the huge room until he found what he was looking for.

'Over here!'

He reached down and pulled up a hinged handle on the floor, yanking it hard. A several metre long and wide hatch opened, and he spun it over on its hinges.

'This is a maintenance access point. They will be safe here.'

'Right, get them inside, boys!' yelled Taylor.

Come on, come on, he thought. This might actually work.

'Set the timers for five minutes.'

'Five? Cutting that a little fine, aren't we?”

'Jafar said the machine needs three minutes to fire up once the power is going. We have no idea when that will happen, so I want as short a fuse as possible, Jones.'

'We could just detonate remotely?'

'No, we can't risk it. If we die trying to make it out of here, or the signal somehow gets jammed, it'll be all over. These nukes going off is the number one priority. Us getting out alive is insignificant by comparison. If we can, we will.'

'Well, aren't you a joy to be with today?'

'Hey, this isn't on me. I didn't turn up to Earth on this fucking monstrosity to try and end humanity. Find Demiran, and take it up with him.'

'I intend to.'

Taylor looked up to see the smile had gone, and he was being deadly serious. He patted Jones on the shoulder and stood up beside him.

'We'll get the bastard, and we'll get him together, unless these nukes fry him. We can only hope.'

'No, it can't be that easy. Someone like Demiran, he won't go down like this. We may destroy his ship, his fleet, and even his army, but when it comes down to the bastard himself, it's gonna be a job for our own hands.'

Taylor could see the bitter hatred in Jones' eyes, and he wished there was a way to console him, but only the death of Demiran would satisfy his desire.

'We're good to go.'

The call came from Silva, so Taylor knew he would not need any confirmation.

'All right, let's blow this hunk of junk!' Rains shouted.

'Set the charges and be ready to move!' yelled Taylor.

'Charges…armed!' Silva called out.

'Let's go!'

Taylor was first to get moving with Jafar close by his side. In just ten seconds at a sprinting pace, they reached the bodies of the Mechs they had slaughtered. Their Reitech suits were now being used to their max, providing a rapid sprint. They reached the secret access door they had left open and thundered on through. There was no need to cover their tracks any longer. They were running for their lives.

They were nearing the end of the passageway but none had slowed down, not even Jafar who was at their head. He hit the doorway at a full sprint and smashed the door from its hinges. It bounced off the opposite wall. Taylor was out a second later and saw Jafar barrel into a roll, hitting the wall and rolling back onto his feet. Mitch