Karadag kicked the Major’s arm aside and lifted to make a heavy vertical stride that would have smashed Taylor to the ground, but was interrupted by Eli. She jumped forward and hit Karadag with all her force behind the shield that sent him staggering back. She knew that such a strike would have killed a human being, but it only appeared to make him angrier.
The two marines stood awaiting their enemy’s next move, but he circled them and cautiously tried to search out their weaknesses.
“Major Taylor, why will you not just die?” he growled.
The deep booming voice echoed around the huge empty crossroads.
“I might well ask you the same question. We never wanted this war. We never came looking for you. Look what you have done. You want to systematically erase our species!”
“Yeeeeesss…” he replied.
Eli shook her head in disgust. He was proud of the fact.
“What are you doing with all these people here? Thousands of them…” she replied.
Karadag turned and looked down at her as if she was a lesser being, although it amused him to sicken her further with an answer.
“Those suitable are being re-programmed. They should make adequate soldiers in our armies.”
“What, humans? They’ll never fight for you!” she spat back.
Karadag let out a slow, deep bellowing laugh that was meant to insult her as much as it was for his own entertainment.
“Humans? All these thousands of years, and look how little distance you have come.”
“We seem to be kicking your ass well enough,” replied Taylor.
Karadag’s eyes lit up a fiery red as he screamed out and swung his huge weapon down against the Major. It was a careless and uncontrolled strike that he easily avoided, thrusting his assegai into the beast’s arm. Karadag gave out a short scream in pain before kicking Taylor in the chest and launching him across the room. He then turned his attention back on Eli as Taylor sighed in pain, trying to get some air back into his lungs.
“A woman in your army? Is that how little understanding you have? You accept weakness?”
She leapt and used her boosters to launch her into the air as she screamed and thrust for Karadag’s face. He parried it aside, but she continued the assault with a barrage of attacks as she descended. In her wild frenzy, she left herself open, and Karadag thrust the back shaft of his two-hander into her stomach, throwing her back. She tumbled along the floor until she came to a stop just two metres from where Taylor was struggling to get to his feet.
The two marines got up together and looked into each others’ eyes. It was in this moment that Taylor realised he didn’t want to die there. He nodded to Eli, and she could already see his thoughts.
“Let’s do this,” he stated.
They both turned and strode in time towards the arrogant alien leader. Parker parried his first strike as Taylor attacked, and they for the first time fought in harmony. Karadag could barely respond in time to the flurry of attacks, and they could see the worry in his eyes. In a panicked attacked, he cut down with all his force against Eli, but she parried with both hands supporting her shield. Taylor leapt forward and smashed the bottom edge of his shield onto Karadag’s leading knee.
The creature’s leg buckled under the power of the blow, and he fell down onto the injured joint. Eli jumped forward and thrust her assegai into his stomach. The brutal weapon pierced his armour without any resistance. His head lifted, and his jaw opened as he let out a screech in pain. He looked back down and lifted his weapon to try and strike, but Taylor thrust forward also.
Parker and Taylor pulled out their swords and continued to stab Karadag repeatedly as he dropped his sword, and they saw the energy in his eyes fade. He collapsed down heavily on the hard floor as pools of blood spread all around him. Eli breathed a sigh of relief, but Taylor paced forward and knelt down beside the head of the dying leader. Karadag spluttered as he tried to speak a few words.
“It isn’t over, it’s never over…”
His voice faded, and his head slumped. Neither of them was in doubt that he was dead. Taylor turned to see Parker leap onto him with a hug.
“We did it!” she cried.
He pulled her back to see her body armour was badly battered from the fight, but that she was okay. She wiped the blood from his face, and he winced at the pressure on his broken nose and bruised face.
“Remind me I never want to go into boxing,” he jested.
She smiled as tears streamed down her face.
“Let’s get the hell out of here.”
Chandra looked at Blinker with a look of surprise as she heard a volley of weapons fire in the distance that she knew not to be of enemy origin. She leapt up to see friendly troops engaging the Mechs from the far corridor where they had come from.
“It’s Wittman!” she cried.
The soldiers who had been huddled behind cover jumped to their firing positions with a newly found confidence. Having others come to their aid was something the Inter-Allied were beginning to forget. They leapt out from cover and advanced on the Mechs, firing as they did so. Chandra turned to see that Eli had joined in from a side corridor, and she could make out the shape of Taylor firing one-handed and with a fellow soldier over his shoulder.
The human forces closed quickly on the Mech forces and with continued fire quickly overcame them. Chandra turned in surprise to see Jones slung over Taylor’s shoulder, and the damage they had all taken.
“Is it done?” she asked.
Taylor grinned in such a way that she already knew the answer.
“Then what are you waiting for? Get your arses out of here!”
She turned to Wittman and the others.
“We’ve got minutes until the enemy descend upon us, and we’re done for. Let’s move it!”
They quickly got up to pace and followed the route they had come in. She rushed up beside Jones.
“Mitch, is he alive?” asked Chandra.
“I think he’ll make it! Next time he wants to commit suicide, he can do it on your watch!”
She looked over in despair at the unconscious body of the Captain who both of them had come to know as a great friend. He was a casualty of war that wasn’t reflected in the casualty reports. They rushed out of the vast building to find little more than a scattering of Mechs and drones that opened fire. One of Silva’s platoon was hit and killed, but the rest quickly returned fire without breaking pace.
Campbell hauled the body of the fallen soldier onto his shoulders. Now knowing what they did, they could never leave a comrade behind, no matter the stakes. The exhausted Taylor rushed to the front of the troops even with the weight of Jones on his shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to get free of the enemy lines.
The two Companies poured aboard the three craft while under continuous fire by the oncoming Mechs. They could tell the enemy was far from ready for the lightning strike they had made, and now there was little available to stop them escaping.
“Eddie! Get is the fuck out of here!” yelled Taylor.
The ramps were still lifting as the craft took off. Several pulses smashed into the craft Rains was piloting, but they did little more than shake the vessel. After getting just thirty metres off the ground, Eddie put all power to the rear engines and soared to full speed. They all knew once they had reached full speed that nothing the enemy had could catch them.
“Jesus Christ, Major, you trying to get me killed?” asked Eddie.
“Mighty fine job you did here, Lieutenant. I’ll be sure to make the General aware of your work.”
“Fuck that, you keep me alive and get me a beer, and I’ll be good.”
Taylor smiled. He stepped back into the transport bay and looked down in sadness at the body of the fallen soldier. He noticed Monty and knelt down beside the man.
“Some good wounds to brag about back home there?”
“Yes, Sir,” he responded with gritted teeth.
Taylor patted him on his good shoulder.
