the room, but there was plenty of space to move. He drew back and nodded to Martinez. Kelly reached for the keypad and punched in the code. The doors opened and they went in.
It was eerily silent, so much so that Kelly couldn’t believe they could get off so lightly. He lifted up his weapon in readiness, but the others didn’t sense any threat. Two dozen of the soldiers poured into the room with many more following. As they got a third of the way in, they were halted by the shock of two Mechs arriving at the archway at the far end.
“Cover!” yelled Kelly.
He fired a grenade from his weapon and leapt for shelter. The shell missed, but it was quickly followed up by others from his company. The Mech pulse weapons surged balls of fire down the room as they all jumped for cover. The first two enemy soldiers were quickly blown apart but more flooded in.
Pulses of enemy fire filled the room as more of the creatures poured in. Kelly leapt up to fire but saw one of the enemy weapons trained on his position. He quickly ducked back down as the pulse blasted though the crate above him. It crashed into six of the soldiers at the top of the stairs. Four were killed instantly, and the other two were tossed aside.
The intensity of gunfire increased as more and more of the Commander’s men got a foothold and lay down a blanket of fire. He knew that if they were to make any progress, they had to get out of the room. Once again he lifted himself up and brought his weapon to bear. He fired quickly as rifle and grenade fire smashed into the Mechs’ position, obliterating the last of them.
It was silent once again, and the troops stared at the fallen creatures. There were a dozen dead Mechs littering the entrance. Kelly looked around to see that they had taken more than double the casualties themselves.
“What do we do, Sir?” asked Martinez.
Kelly was momentarily stunned. He had just led many fine men and women to their deaths. It had to be done, he told himself. He believed in his actions, but he also knew that the responsibility for every life would fall on him. He turned to him with a surprised tone.
“Advance, there will be many more casualties in this war before we see an end to it, Captain. I want the access corridors to the building secured and defended immediately, and the Parliament swept for the enemy.”
Martinez turned back to the troops. Many looked in horror at the devastation around them, but they regained focus upon the officer’s shout.
“We’ve got a job to do! Let’s move!” he barked.
The Moon defence soldiers poured into the room from the stairway. Each unit looked on with morbid curiosity at the dead enemy and with sadness at their fallen comrades left where they fell.
Kelly and Martinez reached the foyer of the Houses of Parliament. The two led from the front like leaders had not done for many hundreds of years. Martinez could not tell if Kelly did so to inspire his men, or because he no longer cared for his own life. Perhaps it was a combination of these elements. The Commander stopped and called the column to a halt. The two other company commanders quickly reached him.
“This junction feeds every route into the Houses of Parliament. You have your orders. Get to it.”
The two officers nodded and quickly rushed on to set up defensive positions on the routes in.
“It’s time to sweep this place. I want it fast and efficient. No team operates with less than twenty men. NCOs, you have your allocated floors. Move out!”
They quickly broke apart as they swarmed to the various staircases. Kelly spoke to Martinez.
“This will be base command for now. It’s as central as can be and not easy to breach from the air.”
Down the long access corridors they could already hear the rage of gunfire and pulse weapons. The other companies were fighting to gain ground in the surrounding buildings. Kelly knew he had a hell of a fight on his hands. Martinez stepped forward so he could speak privately with the Commander.
“Sir, are you sure you’re ready for these losses? We may do some major damage to those bastards, but what of the price we’ll pay?”
“It is the price of our survival, Captain. I never sought out combat, never wanted to see it. But this has been put on us, and we must deal with it. Don’t be under any illusions, we are going to take heavy losses in the ensuing battle. We only have to hope we can do worse to them.”
Chapter 10
Eddie Rains put down the copter on the landing ground just outside Reiter’s research facility. The mood was sad amongst the marines aboard. None of them had faith that the two missing soldiers were alive, except for Taylor. The Major was unwilling to accept that he had lost them yet. He knew that he needed to cling on to whatever hope he had left of seeing his friend again. As they got up to climb out of the aircraft, Sergeant Silva patted the Major on the back in condolence.
“You did everything you could.”
Taylor stopped and turned to the Sergeant who was every bit as good a friend as Jones.
“No, Sergeant, I have barely begun. We are going to get the Captain back if I have to go to hell and back. I didn’t leave Parker behind, and I’ll be damned if I will Jones.”
The Sergeant nodded. He knew there was no point in arguing with the Major. Moreover he liked the enthusiasm and stubbornness that Taylor had always possessed. He took his hand away and walked on. Taylor followed to see that Major Chandra awaited him on the deck. He shook his head, but she already knew from his body language that they had failed.
“I am sorry, Major, sorry we could not do more.”
“Far from it, Taylor, we need you to continue just as you are. General White is waiting for us in the conference room.”
Taylor righted himself and strode forward. A new mission was exactly what he needed to pull himself up from such a dire and miserable mood. Minutes later the two Majors stepped into the room to see two conference calls set up with White and Dupont. Both the General and the Brigadier stared at the exoskeleton suit he wore and the vast weapon slung on his side.
“So this is the new equipment?” asked White.
“Yes, Sir.”
“I hear great things.”
“I’d have provided you a full report, Sir, but urgent matters called.”
“No trouble, Taylor. Major Chandra has already submitted a preliminary combat report to us, and it is all we need to move forward.”
Taylor turned to the Major and gave a quick nod in appreciation of her assistance.
“Major, I am sure you are both now familiar with Brigadier Dupont.”
They turned to see that Commander Phillips was stood off to his side.
“Yes, Sir.”
“Major, you are clearly aware that I have lost all but the last few kilometres of my country. However, I have not yet lost my people. France has been occupied before. We will fight on in this war.”
Taylor turned to White, knowing that he must have something important to say.
“Sir, please cut to the chase.”
“Last time we spoke, Major, I mentioned that the enemy forces were manufacturing something big in France.”
“Yes, Sir,” replied Taylor.
“We already knew they were starting the construction of drones and other hardware. That is a concerning fact, and one which we are trying to counter at all times. However, this is of greater concern.”
A map projected before them. The General tapped a few buttons on his screen and a red box lit up towards the west coast of France.
“Surveillance has shown us that without a doubt a major facility is being constructed not far from Poitiers, as is highlighted on your map. Our experts have identified increasing amounts of highly dangerous radiation in the area.”
