“Yes, Sir.”
The comms officer looked concerned. He was uneasy about two of the command staff heading off for combat.
“Lewis, you’re in charge till we get back, stay sharp!”
“Sir!”
Kelly now had twenty grenades stuffed into his body armour. He pulled his weapon around his body and looked at it intently, making sense of it all. Within a second he’d found the chamber release switch. The front half of the weapon levered forward, allowing access to the revolving magazine. He loaded in a full eight shells from the box on the desk before slamming the weapon shut.
Turning back to Martinez, he could see that the team had already been selected and were busy loading up for the mission. The group was a mix of MDF and UEN soldiers. Previously they had treated each other with animosity and dissent. The MDF hated the UEN for being deployed on their colony and their eternal arrogance. The United Earth Nations troops had disdain for the MDF as being only a militia force. These feelings had melted away as they had quickly accepted each other as brothers in this new war.
“Let’s not forget that we still face an enemy that we do not fully understand. We have likely not seen everything they have at their disposal yet, nor have we tried these new weapons. I want an even spread of rifles and launchers at all times. The launchers are all loaded with armour piercing rounds.”
“Sir? Aren’t we going to breach the compound with hardware like this?” asked Doyle.
“It’s a concern, yes. However, at this point we have no choice but to upgun to whatever level we have to. Earth forces will also be using a high explosive shell, but for obvious reasons have not supplied those to us.”
The soldiers pawed over the new launchers, not having handled such powerful personal weapons before.
“We honestly don’t know how these will do against the Mechs. Choose your targets carefully and use your ammunition wisely. Everyone happy?”
The troops nodded. They were excited and scared in equal measure.
“Make sure you all have your air tanks and masks, a breach isn’t ideal but we have to be prepared for it. We are heading half a kilometre north where we will enter the colony below the Metro gym.”
Kelly watched as they loaded the last of their kit. It felt more like they were preparing for a hunt than a battle. Perhaps that notion was what kept their morale up, it was not something Kelly wished to compromise.
“Let’s move!”
He led the way down a broad tunnel. They weaved in and out of countless people who were going about their business. The previous day had seen their new underground homes as a miserable place where the survivors of the colony lay about with little to do but grieve. Now every one had a job to do and it was forcing them to move on.
Kelly knew that the food supplies delivered to them would only last a week for the masses of survivors living underground, but it was a vital first step.
“Why the gym?” asked Martinez.
“We need to keep varying our entry points onto the surface to not present a pattern to the enemy. I picked it randomly as we have not previously used the access point there. The truth is that all we need to do is find some of those bastards and that won’t be hard once we reach the surface.”
Martinez knew all too well how widespread the enemy Mechs were. Fifteen minutes later they reached the two ladders that led up to the surface building. Climbing in full gear was no fun for any of them, not least for Kelly. He wished he’d kept in better shape, but it was to late to worry about that now.
They lifted the hatches above which opened up into a dark storage basement for the highly successful and up market gym. Kelly panted as he hauled himself into the room and rested on one knee for a moment, trying to hide his fatigue. After a few seconds he lifted the Mappad hung around his neck. Nothing showed on his scanner. He turned and looked to see the last of the troops climbing in.
He moved forward to the head of the column. Their military training had taught them to work in smaller teams and with greater spacing, but this new enemy had changed their strategy massively. When meeting them they needed maximum firepower at all times. The group of twenty-one kept close and alert as he led them up to the atrium of the fitness centre.
Just after arriving at the ground floor of the building Kelly got a reading on the Mappad device. He lifted his arm and signalled that a target was showing at ten o’clock. They all tensed and lifted their weapons ready. The huge glass walls dividing the gym to the walkway had been blown out in a previous fight.
Kelly signalled for them to hold their fire. They needed to know the effectiveness of the new weapons before unleashing a volley of fire. The men at the front knelt down, so that they could all have a clear line of sight at the opening just twenty metres ahead. They waiting silently as they could hear the heavy footsteps of the lumbering armoured Mech stomping towards them.
As he held the new launcher firmly at his shoulder, Kelly could feel his pulse racing and his heart pounding in his chest. A week before his wife had been warning him of the risk of a heart attack with all the stress he faced at his age. Now she was anxiously waiting in the make shift dormitory blocks as he fought on the front line.
Then it appeared, the ugly metal monster. It turned quickly as it caught sight of the soldiers. Before it could raise its huge energy weapon the Commander fired a single round. The large projectile hit the Mech just off centre of what would be the chest armour of a human. Landing like the punch of a heavyweight boxer, the enemy soldier stumbled back a step before catching its balance.
Kelly could see that the impact had hurt the alien, but it was far from dead. It quickly regained its composure and tried to lift its weapon again to target them. He didn’t wait a second longer, quickly firing off two more shells. Each hit the creature square centre in its mass. The metal suit went limp as whatever was inside collapsed onto the broken glass with a crash. The soldiers stared at their fallen enemy.
“Holy shit,” said Martinez.
Kelly turned to his number two with a smile. Finally they had a chance.
Chapter 9
“General White! Report is in from Commander Kelly!” shouted Taylor.
He blurted out his words before he’d even got through the door of the Command Centre. The Generals immediately turned towards him. Any other time they would have disciplined him for his rudeness, but they were all more anxious to hear what he had to say than to how he told them.
“Speak, Major.”
“At twenty metres, a single round hurt the Mechs bad, second and third finished it immediately!”
The Major had a broad grin on his face. He wasn’t just satisfied that he had been right about the weapons, but that it would be enough to get them distributed and put into action right away.
“That’s damn fine news, Major, good work! However, I must tell you that I have already ordered the release of all stores to be allocated to combat troops and a further mass scale production to commence immediately.”
“Sir? I thought you were waiting on the combat report?”
“For final confirmation, Major, yes. In all honesty, we didn’t have time to wait for it, and we have all come to rely on you in these past days.”
The Major gasped, realising how much responsibility lay on his shoulders.
“The United States will no longer stay out of the conflict in Europe, but our location and our allies, are best served by a direct attack on the enemy. We are about to mount the greatest assault that has been seen in generations!”
“General, the South American Union is willing to commit five thousand troops, as well as ships and aircraft to carry them,” said liaison Flores.
“I have been informed that my government will match that commitment,” said the Canadian envoy, Commander Brown.
“Thank you, then we have a great task ahead of us. We have been planning such an operation for days now. The Air Force has been carrying out almost continuous strikes against the western edge of Tartaros. Our job now is
