hardship with that of the Captain. He sat down on top of the torso of a fallen Mech. Gunfire continued to rage all around as the rest of the human armies drove the Mechs back. He watched in amazement as he could see the creatures in the distance turn tail and flee.
Captain Jones strolled up to the Major with his weapon slung on his back and not a care in the world. Blood still stained his clothes and skin. He looked out at the enemy with a frenzied look. Taylor felt like he should have a witty comment for Jones, but he knew it would be lost on the dire Captain. Chandra rushed back to them.
“Come on! What are you stopping for! Let’s drive these bastards back to hell!”
Jones wrenched his rifle from his back and eagerly stepped forward at the idea of further bloodshed. Taylor yawned as he stood up and wished for it all to be over. He turned to see Parker. He’d barely spoken a word to her since his rescue. Her face was filthy, but her teeth shone through with a dreamy smile. It was a vivid reminder of what he was fighting for.
“Come on, Major, we’ve got work to do,” she whispered.
He turned back and watched as Chandra and Jones led the Company into the flank of the enemy, firing as they ran. His fatigue suddenly seeped away as he got his second wind and leapt into action. For all the fear and dread the enemy caused, they were now being slaughtered in a turkey shoot like none of them had ever seen.
An hour later, they stood on the bloody plain with the enemy utterly vanquished. Taylor looked out towards the tree line and could see the rest of their forces had halted at the sight of the destruction. Chandra felt a warmth in her stomach that their foes were being made to suffer as they had. Now they can know what it is like to live in fear, she thought.
Chapter 9
Taylor sat once again upon the battlefield surrounded by the dead of both sides Have we broken them? Soldiers passed him with smiles and patted each other on the back for a job well done. He felt a new kind of hope, like he’d not felt since the beginning. It was a hope so long forgotten that it felt entirely alien to him.
A column of vehicles approached from the east and he could already make out stars on the bonnet of one of the armoured cars. General Schulz coming to claim his victory, thought Taylor. Chandra paced up to him with a smile which quickly turned to scorn when she saw the incoming vehicles.
“Ahh shit,” she exclaimed.
“Yep, no peace,” he replied.
“You’re gonna have to take this lightly. Schulz has let you off the hook, but he will be quick to anger, so no macho bullshit, okay?”
“That an order?”
“You’re damn right it is. The last thing we need is to lose valuable members of this Company over some stupid pissing contest.”
“Yeah, yeah, I got you.”
Taylor watched nonchalantly as the impeccably clean vehicles rumbled into view, and General Schulz jumped triumphantly onto the battlefield. He spun around with a huge smile as he looked at the success they had won, and reached out to shake the hands of all the soldiers he passed. He stepped up towards Chandra and quickly noticed Taylor sat down beside her. At first his face turned to scorn, and he tried to ignore the American Major, but he knew it would be in vain.
“Major Chandra, what is this new equipment I see?”
“Doctor Reiter wished to field test new equipment, and we did it for him.”
“Fascinating.”
He turned to look down at Taylor and knew he must do something to smoothen over their hatred of each other. Chandra’s Company was invaluable to him, and Taylor was an important part of that.”
“Major Taylor, I see that you and this war are inseparable.”
Taylor looked up at the General with a tired and uninterested expression.
“That seems to be my curse.”
“You must understand that I never wanted to have to punish and detain you, but neither can I have my army running amok. The chain of command must be adhered to.”
Taylor nodded, as he had nothing left to say. He’d never stop hating the General for his spineless response to the captured soldiers, and his subsequent incarceration for doing the right thing.
“Damn good work here, Major Chandra. Get some rest. The first issue of Reitech equipment is going operational this evening. Tomorrow we push on into France!”
He waited for an enthusiastic response from the Major, but it never came. The thought of returning to the lands where they had been so badly mauled did not appeal one bit.
“We’ll be ready, Sir.”
“I am sure you will,” he said with a smile.
The General turned back and shouted out words of praise to the troops as he returned to his vehicle, to be spirited away to the life of comforts he rarely left. Taylor lay with his head in his hands. His return to the Company hadn’t been all that he’d envisaged. Friday was gone, and Jones seemed to be a different man altogether. Boots squelched in the mud, and he saw Parker looking down on him. Her smile was enough to make him forget it all. They had one night to spend together before the fighting continued.
“Major, Major!” shouted Blinker, rushing along the lines of popup tents where they had spent the night. Chandra stood beside a kettle awaiting her coffee while Taylor sat down next to her cleaning his rifle. She turned casually to see what the fuss was about, but showed little enthusiasm. The rain hadn’t let up overnight, and it was a soggy and bleak start to the day. The Private rushed up to Chandra and didn’t wait for her to answer before continuing.
“Major, the order has been sent out. We’re going forward across the border!”
She didn’t even look at the Private as he spouted out the news with such enthusiasm. She’d no stomach for returning to France; the land only conjured up memories of pain and suffering. The Major slowly stood up and stretched her legs, taking a sip from her mug as the Private watched in surprise at her lack of response.
“We’re going back, Major, taking back what we lost!”
She nodded slowly in response and finally replied.
“Relay the orders to Sergeant Silva, and have him form up the Company in fifteen.”
The Private turned to Taylor to look for any spark of joy at finally being on the winning side, but he found none. He sighed and rushed off to relay the orders in some hope of a response more pleasing. Chandra turned to Taylor who was waiting for her to speak.
“They have driven us back this far, you really think they’re going to give up France this easily?” she asked.
“Not a chance. I think we have hit them hard, and more than they could ever have expected. But to underestimate this enemy now would be a grave mistake. We stopped them before, at Paris, and Ramstein. Maybe this time is different, but it sure doesn’t feel like it yet.”
Within the hour, they were geared up and moving forwards across the war-torn lands still littered with the bodies of their enemies. They paced cautiously towards the forest edge where just the day before they had seen the enemy forces amassing. It was suspiciously quiet, but an hour later they had passed well into the undergrowth and found no sign of the Krycenaeans.
“You really think they are on the run?” whispered Parker.
“We’ve certainly bloodied their noses a little, who knows?” replied Taylor.
“Well that’s reassuring,” she snapped.
It wasn’t long before they reached the far side of the forest, and once again looked on at the Ramstein base. It seemed abandoned and peaceful. Chandra lifted her hand to stop the Company, beckoning for Taylor to come forward to her side.
“You think they’d leave a strategic point like this for us to just walk back and take?” she asked.
“No fucking way. No, I wouldn’t.”
