“Be ready for ‘em!” she yelled.
Taylor looked down at the huge rifle he held in one hand and admired it. It felt damn good to be back in the line. As much as he was grateful to be free, the rest of them were relieved to finally have back the equipment they had become so attached to.
“Eight hundred metres, wait for it!” Chandra ordered.
Taylor felt his finger close around the trigger in anticipation. As Chandra shouted out her last command, the roar of the tanks at their backs overwhelmed her voice, but it didn’t matter. They all knew what time it was. The Company opened fire with everything it had, and the other troops who had joined them assisted. The gunfire rang out at such a rate it sounded like a constant drone.
In the first volley, Taylor saw fifty Mechs killed instantly and riddled with fire. The Poles and Czechs watched in astonishment and cheered. They knew their weapons had little to do with the destruction, but they continued firing anyway. They were caught up in the excitement of seeing so many of the enemy fall before them.
Energy pulses still rushed overhead and hit their positions, but the enemy couldn’t put out the rate of fire of the allied troops, who were overwhelming them with the help of Reiter’s equipment. They all watched in amazement as their armoured foes dropped like flies at three hundred metres, and their tanks could do little better.
As the incoming fire began to calm, Chandra stood up to look far along the line. She could see the trenches on their flanks only just holding while they were making mince meat of the Krycenaeans. She took a pace further up, out of the firing shelf and out onto the open plane, where she stood for all to see. She did not flinch nor kneel. Many of the allies stood and waited for her to speak.
“Let’s finish these bastards now, and drive them back from where they came!”
She turned and leapt across the open trench work; jogging towards the oncoming enemy with her shield held out in front and continuing to fire as she drove forward. The Company watched as two pulses smashed into her shield and barely slowed her. They were still doubtful of the new equipment, but Chandra was all the proof they needed. Taylor leapt out of the trench after her.
“Kill them all!” he shouted.
The Company launched out of the defences, and the other troops soon followed. They were inspired by the officer’s valour and unfaltering courage. The Company rushed forwards with their shields close together, providing plenty of cover for the other allies behind them. For the first time in weeks, Chandra could see doubt in the Mechs. She couldn’t see their faces, but their body language spoke volumes.
The creatures were turning and looking for support, but they weren’t finding any. As the Company advanced, they took shots at the enemies on their flanks which drew attention from the other trenches. The allied soldiers for a kilometre either side watched with open mouths as they rushed forward towards their enemy.
The thought of closing against the Mechs was frightening, and something to be avoided at all costs. General Schulz watched from a hilltop three kilometres away through a digital viewing screen. He was speechless as he saw them rush across open terrain.
Taylor and the others quickly realised they could fire with a fair accuracy even at high speed, thanks to Reiter’s tracking devices. They were closing the distance fast with the enemy who were being whittled down at quite a rate. Taylor rushed forward to get to close quarters first. The Mech he charged fired at close range, jolting his shield arm with the impact. The burning light almost blinded him, and he felt it singe the hair on his arm underneath his gear.
Firing as he ran, the Major hit the Mech with two shots square in the chest, but he didn’t slow down. He lifted his shield and smashed it into the creature at an almost sprinting speed. Much to his surprise, he smashed the huge beast onto its back as if they were football players. He lowered his rifle and fired a further two rounds into its faceplate, and thick blue blood gushed out from the holes.
Chandra fired on full auto as she rushed towards a Mech, and knew she had killed her target before it had even hit the ground. But as she turned to find another target, a broad door on a burning tank she was passing flew open and smashed into her shield. The impact launched her into the air, and she tumbled several times in the mud.
She landed nimbly on to her knees and looked up to see a creature half climbing out of the hatch. Before it could get its second foot from the opening, Captain Jones thrust his assegai up into its stomach region, driving it high into its torso. Blood seeped down the weapon and over Jones’ hand, and he stood marvelling at his work.
Jones drew out the blade and watched the beast tumble lifelessly out of the vehicle down into the mud. He looked over to Chandra who looked in disgust at the gory sight.
“They really do work,” he stated.
The Major was glad they had the assegai devices, but she doubted it was necessary in that moment to use them. Jones is fuelling a blood lust, she thought. Nobody chooses to fight these creatures in close quarters unless they have no other choice. It was further confirmation that Jones was on the suicidal path she had predicted, but there was no time to be concerned with it in that moment.
Chandra turned to see that Taylor had climbed up onto the wreck of a Mech vehicle and was using it as a vantage point to pick and choose his targets at their flank; and so assist their troops to the north. She turned around to see the allied armour at their backs had advanced and were already spreading out to assist.
“We’ve done it!” shouted Monty.
“We’ve fucking broken through the bastards!” cried Blinker.
Cheers rang out across the trench works either side of their positions, and they could see the Mech forces already turning to face them. Chandra knew their breach would allow them to roll up the enemy flank, a fact she was all too eager to exploit. The allied tanks turned sharply to head north to help. She turned to the south and screamed.
“Forwards!”
She raised her weapon towards their enemies, screaming with all the power of her lungs. Taylor’s face lit up in a frenzy as he leapt from the ruined vehicle. They fired on the move as they had done before. Only two of their Company fell, one wounded and one killed. Taylor rushed to the flank of an advancing enemy tank and drew out his assegai. He thrust it into the side door mechanism and cut through the lock like butter.
Chandra watched as Taylor sheathed the assegai and ripped the door from its hinges while it continued forward. He lifted his rifle and put the barrel through the opening, firing into the compartment with a bloodthirsty grin on his face and his teeth clenched. She could tell he was enjoying dealing out death; she was only glad he had vented his anger on the enemy and not their Generals.
Two hours later, they stood at the heart of a burning battlefield. The bodies of allied soldiers littered the fields; only outnumbered by the debris and wreckage of the Krycenaean forces that had been mauled on the open plain. Chandra eventually found Taylor once again. The marine Major had enemy blood trickling down his face and staining his uniform.
She knew that Jones was not the same man she used to know, but neither was Taylor. Jones had a death wish, but Taylor was hungry for blood. He smiled as he panted and scooped in the stale air. Cries of excitement continued down the allied lines. The only words they could make out were ‘Immortals!’ being screamed en mass.
“We’ve done it, broken the cycle,” said Chandra.
“You think that’ll be enough for the brass?” asked Taylor.
“Well, we didn’t exactly stick to the plan, but fuck ‘em. No one can doubt what we have achieved here today.”
“Why should it stop? We’ve got them on the run, so let’s keep moving forward and finish them!”
Chandra stepped up closer to the Major and whispered.
“All in good time, let’s savour what we have and re-group.”
Taylor’s wide eyes settled as he calmed himself. He knew she was right and was starting to see the brutal and bloodthirsty hunger within him that he didn’t like. He hunched his shoulders down in shame and looked away from Chandra. She grabbed him, stopping him from walking away.
“Hey! You’ve done a great job here today, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If Schulz wants to bitch about it, then tough shit!”
Taylor smiled, but it wasn’t his concern at all. Confinement had made him a little crazy, and he could already see in himself a part of the emptiness he’d witnessed in Jones. He ridiculed himself in his mind for comparing his
