halt as his shoulders smashed into a large rock. He groaned in pain, but he could tell he was still in one piece. He rolled over and got up onto one knee to look for Eddie.
'God damn that hurt,' he moaned.
He was still flat out on the ground. His clothing was covered in dirt, and his arms were cut and bleeding, but he was alive.
'Next time I say wear your suit, wear you suit!'
'You got no argument from me.'
Taylor stumbled over, hauling him to his feet. The others landed all around.
'That could have gone better.'
'We're alive aren't we, Charlie?'
He looked up to the line of armour up ahead. To their backs APCs approached, and artillery fire shot overhead from both sides.
'Looks like we landed in the shit,' said Eddie. He pulled out his personal sidearm, the only weapon he had on him.
'We need to find you a proper weapon.'
'I'm sure there'll be no shortage lying about the ground.'
Taylor motioned for them to go forward even though they were still missing several platoons. He got to a jogging pace as he could see the tanks were fighting from a crest that hid the enemy from view. As they neared, he slowed and through the dust and smoke could see that troops were scattered along the edge and lying in prone positions.
'Friendlies coming in!' he yelled.
There was so much fire all around that only a handful of the soldiers even noticed. He ducked down and went prone beside a few that had turned to acknowledge them. For a moment, they looked both surprised and confused to see their uniforms, but within seconds they no longer cared.
'Colonel Taylor, who's your commanding officer?'
'He's dead. Lieutenant Amar is in charge. She's over there!' he shouted, pointing east along the line.'
'Thanks.' He noticed several of Jones' platoon had started taking shots at the enemy who were still two hundred metres out.
'Ota! Jackson! Take up position here. Grey spread out to the west! Jones you're with me!'
He got up and rushed behind the cover of the nearest tank while he looked out east. He could see a women shouting at several of the troops and guessed it was Amar. Dead IDF soldiers lay around her position, and a medic was fighting to save one of the wounded. He rushed over to her position and hit the dirt beside her. His landing threw dust up over the Lieutenant. She spat it out, looking back at Taylor ready to yell at him but saw he wasn't one of hers.
'Colonel Taylor, we're here to help.'
'About time!'
'What can we do?'
'Get firing. We've got thousands of Mechs advancing on us. We've lost five kilometres in the last hour. Much further and we'll be at the city!'
He looked back to Jones and his company and beckoned for them to move forward and take the positions where the dead lay. They were almost shoulder-to-shoulder with the IDF soldiers wedged between two tanks, one of which was a burning wreck. Taylor put his rifle on the shelf they were using for cover and immediately targeted the first Mech. They were advancing in waves and quickly covering the ground. Several armoured vehicles from both sides lay burning across the plain.
There were so many targets to choose from, he could almost fire blind and still hit something. The enemy front expanded as far as he could see both sides, though smoke and dust limited visibility. Pulses exploded all around, and he felt the burning residue landing everywhere. A heavy weapon beyond his sight hit the surviving tank next to them. The turret was ripped from the hull and sent hurtling twenty metres behind them. He looked back to the enemy and could see a never-ending surge of Mechs and armoured vehicles.
Taylor turned to look at what they had at their backs, and there was nothing but empty space. He grabbed Amar's arm, forcing her to turn away from the battle.
'We can't stay here!' he shouted at her.
'We have to. There is only a kilometre left between here and the city.'
'Then we will have to take up position in the city outskirts.'
'I won't leave my post!'
Without thinking, he slapped her hard across the face. He hated himself for doing it, but he didn't see a woman before him; he saw a brave officer who was going to be dead, along with all her comrades if he didn't act. Blood seeped from her mouth, and she said nothing.
'This position has fallen. Don't be foolish and stay here to die. Fall back, regroup, and stay in this fight.'
It was the reality check she needed, even if it did hurt her pride more than her jaw. She spoke something in Hebrew through her comms unit that meant nothing to Taylor, and then shouted a second time louder. She staggered to get to her feet. She was clearly exhausted. Taylor reached out and helped her.
'Fallback!' he ordered.
He repeated the same into his radio. He turned to see Eddie taking a rifle from one of the bodies and salvaging what ammunition he could. Taylor knew how heavy the bulky weapons were without the aid of a suit and did not envy him for having to manage it.
They got to a quick jogging pace as a few of the tanks began to roll back with them. Taylor could see that less than half of the Israeli armour at the line was able to move.
'We're losing a lot of ground!' said Amar.
'And we'll lose a lot more until we get some serious support,' replied Taylor.
'We were promised support from all over, but you're the first to arrive.'
'We have another regiment en route. Should be here within an hour.'
'Then I hope we can last that long. Militias have made defences at the edge of the city. We'll have to hold there.'
The Israelis were one of the few nations still putting people through National Service, and he knew that meant they'd at least have some training, though he doubted their equipment would be up to muster. Pulses still burst around them from indirect fire. The shelf they had fought from at least covered their retreat. Jafar rushed up beside Taylor. He didn't seem to shock Amar. It seemed news of one of the enemy fighting alongside the humans was spreading quickly now.
A few minutes later, they had passed behind the range of the enemy guns and thought they'd reached safety, but it was not to be. Aircraft rushed overhead, and a new wave of enemy pulses crashed down in between them as they ran for their lives. Soldiers from both units were thrown through the air by blasts and tossed around like rag dolls.
One of the pulses burst in front of Taylor, and he dipped his head just in time for the shrapnel to brush over his helmet and save his face. The crater left in front of him was four metres wide and a metre deep.
'They're not going to let up, are they?' asked Jones.
'No,' replied Jafar.
'At this rate, they'll be in Jerusalem by tomorrow unless we can stop them,' said Amar.
They kept running, and it wasn't long before they could see the defensive positions at the edge of the city. Several kilometres of trench works and walls were being manned by the militias. The defences were at least a welcome sight. They reached the trenches and flooded inside. The pulses continued to burst all around them. Amar and Taylor stuck together as they slid into a trench. The militia looked scared. Taylor could already see they were beginning to regret standing their ground once they could see the troops running for their lives.
'Jones, get on to Phillips and find out when we're getting reinforced!'
'Nobody has seen the Commander since hitting the ground. Word is his copter was hit on the way in.'
'Well, find a radio and get on to Harney, and tell him we need more than just 5th Marine Regiment!'
'I'll do what I can.'
The bombardment settled down a few minutes later, but they knew it wouldn't last.
