could see that Jones was not the man he used to know. His heart sank, knowing that it was all for nothing.
Chapter 8
Taylor sat in a cold damp trench once again. He still wore his prison issue white clothing, and the light of day hurt his eyes. Of all the places to be in life, he would never have wanted to be where he was in those circumstances. And yet after his incarceration, he was revelling in his freedom. He lay back against the soggy earth that stained his shirt and took in the fresh air. They were a couple of kilometres from the main line.
“Major!” He looked up to see Silva drop a clean set of BDUs into his lap. He recognised the camouflage pattern as used by the Germans. It was a darker and more disrupted pattern to their own, but it had been fitted with his rank insignia and American flag.”
“Best I can do.”
Taylor sat up and looked at the hand-stitched insignia and smiled.
“Much appreciated, Sergeant.”
He stood up and pulled off his damp and dirty clothing where he stood and pulled on what Silva had brought him. It was comforting to once again be wearing proper attire, even if it was improvised. He peered around at the troops around him and noticed that a handful of others in their Company wore the same.
“It’s pretty hard to get replacement gear from the States, right now. I guess the postal service is slacking,” Silva grinned.
The troops looked a hotchpotch mix with three uniforms being prevalent amongst them now, and most were heavily worn and faded. He looked out east across the open plain. He could see line after line of trenches as far as the eye could see; with tanks dug in to hull down positions, and serviceable turrets from destroyed vehicles setup as emplacements.
“Looks like the troops here have been busy.”
“We had no idea. We thought when Ramstein fell we were in the shit. Turns out everyone expected that to happen. I guess it ain’t surprising, considering we lost Paris and all that.”
Taylor suddenly realised he’d fallen into a daydream while lying down and peering up at the sky. A couple of hours had passed, but it had done him some good. He’d got better sleep out there on the edge of a muddy trench than he’d ever had in prison.
“Chandra and Jones about?”
“They’ve been called up to Command.”
“Ah, shit, Schulz know I’m out?”
“No idea, but he doesn’t miss much.”
“Ain’t that the god damn truth?”
A new round of shelling rang out in the distance. They were too far from the action to see it, but they all knew the kind of relentless brutality that was being thrashed against their defences. Taylor looked out over the forest canopy to the west to see plumes of smoke rising and alien craft on the skyline.
“Poor bastards.”
“Hey, we’ve done more than our fair share,” replied Silva.
“True, but I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. To have to live through such a time… what did we do to deserve it?”
“Wrong place, wrong time, I guess.”
Taylor chuckled. He admired the fact that Silva could never be reduced to the depression and misery that plagued so many of their fellow soldiers in such dire times.
“Do you know what our orders are?” asked Taylor.
Silva looked up with a bemused expression. He’d never in his life heard the Major ask him such.
“I don’t believe we even have any. Allied forces have been ordered to dig in all over, but I doubt anyone even knows where we are, right now.”
“How did Chandra get called up then?”
“Despatch riders relayed the command.”
“Then I guess they know where we are!”
“I wouldn’t take it for granted, Sir. Communication and organisation has gone to shit. As far as I know, the only stand is to dig in and hold your ground wherever you are.”
“That worked a treat in Ramstein.”
Silva sighed, as he knew it to be true. Taylor hadn’t been at the front line, but he knew all too well what it was like to face their invaders with such antiquated equipment.
“I hear the first production Reitech gear has been issued,” stated Silva.
“That scuttlebutt, Sergeant, or have you seen it with your own eyes?”
Silva shrugged his shoulders as Taylor looked at the horizon lighting up in the distance with artillery fire. Facing the Krycenaeans was a fearful thing, but he hated knowing that fellow soldiers were dying just a few kilometres away while he stood and chatted. He turned back to Silva.
“This tiered defence. It’ll work you know. Or at least, it has the best chance of working, but it’ll cost countless lives.”
“Which option wouldn’t?” he retorted.
An hour later, Chandra returned hitching a ride on a Jeep along with Jones. They found Taylor sat with a mug of coffee staring aimlessly out towards the raging battlefield.
“Good to see you back in proper gear!” she shouted.
He turned and leapt to his feet.
“What are our orders? Am I to be arrested again?”
“Schulz knows you’re with us, but he doesn’t know the circumstances of how. There’s not much he can do about it, right now. He can’t spare the people, or time to sort you out, and doesn’t even have anywhere to keep you. His orders are that you are to remain under my custody and may carry a weapon, but have no privilege of rank until a full investigation and tribunal is possible.”
“Jesus, what a fucking asshole!”
“Give the man some credit. He’s letting you walk free, and that’s all that matters, right now. For the foreseeable future, you will remain as my consulting officer.”
Taylor shook his head in astonishment.
“I guess it’s better than prison.”
“Look, as far as the Company is concerned, you’re still a Major, and they will take your orders, no matter what. As long as you stick with me, and we maintain that capacity publicly, you’ll be fine.”
“Alright, and my weapons?”
“Gear is still tight. We are to beg, borrow and steal whatever we can get. I believe Suarez has a spare rifle, and that will have to do.”
“A rifle, you’ve seen what those creatures can do? We barely survived when we faced them the first time with gear like this!”
“All I can say is be thankful we are alive, and not at the front,” she said as she gestured towards the front lines which Taylor had been so fixated on.
“They’ll get to us eventually,” replied Taylor.
“I have no doubt, but that time is not now. Let’s get some rest while we can. We have rations being brought up within the hour.”
She stepped forward and strode past the trench onto the next where the other platoons were set up. Taylor quickly rushed to her side and paced along with her.
“There’s word Reitech gear’s being issued, you know anything about that?”
“Only the same rumours you do,” she snapped back.
The two of them turned as they heard vehicles roaring towards them. Two trucks were racing over the mottled ground away from the front lines. They could already make out a dozen or more wounded on each of them.
