There was no response, no cheering, the people were still too shocked to show any major emotion. He could see that a few faces looked doubtful, but many more had just a faint touch of hope.
“Martinez, if I don’t return, you’re in charge.”
Kelly had known the officer for many years. He liked the man and trusted him with many things, but knew that he wouldn’t be capable of leading them to survival, let alone victory. Despite this, he had no better choice. He made the gesture out of procedure rather than anything else.
“Let’s go!”
They strode out of the room towards one of the access tunnels they used to get up to the surface structure. A ladder led up to a small storage room on the ground floor of the library building above. The underground access tunnels had been carefully hidden and forgotten by most overtime. They had been sealed off for government and military use only.
Kelly climbed the ladder first, lifting the hatch that was well concealed under the carpet of the small room. He raised it only a few centimetres, listening for the sound of the huge Mechs constantly patrolling the buildings above ground. The area was quiet, a welcome piece of news. He lifted it higher and climbed out into the room, followed by his team which completely filling it.
“Put the hatch back down,” he whispered.
Cautiously opening the door, the Commander stepped out into the corridor of the ground floor of the library. He had become very familiar with the structure years ago, when he regularly visited in order to meet various groups to discuss the documentation of the colonisation of the Moon. Libraries had seen a major resurgence since people wished to publically discuss the things they read.
The lights were still on. The colony would run without any maintenance for years to come. The highly developed nuclear power source would keep the power on, as well as oxygen and water processing going almost indefinitely. He stepped towards the staircase, not wanting to risk activating the elevators, even though they were working.
The building was eerily silent and as they reached the stairway it immediately became clear that every sound they made echoed through the tall stairwell. Kelly had seen enough of the enemy to know that he never wanted to see them again. The thought of going above ground scared him more than anything in his life, but to do nothing would condemn every surviving colonist to death.
* * *
“Get down!” shouted Jones.
An energy pulse from one of the enemy vehicle’s mounted cannons smashed into the building above them, rocking the structure. Glass and debris crashed all around them. The body armour suits were all that kept the men from sustaining serious injury. The Captain was momentarily stunned by the deafening crash of the building collapsing around him. Clawing his way to his feet, he shook off the dust covering his body.
“Get on the guns! Keep firing!”
Charlie ran along the line of the corridor that had been their firing position. Several of his men were stumbling about trying to regain their composure. His hearing began to recover and the first sounds were the French guns around their position.
“Where are you going, Sir?” shouted Saunders.
“I need to talk to Girard!”
The comms equipment had been jammed soon after the siege had begun. Jones had been expecting this from the very beginning after Taylor had warned him about the incident on the Moon. The lack of communication created a number of problems for the ground forces which they will still unable to overcome.
The Captain ducked and weaved along the corridor as explosions continued as his troops fired back into the street. Jones had read about such vicious city warfare in the history books, but he didn’t think he’d personally ever have to experience it. The modern armies existed really as a police force and acted only in the intervention of small military conflicts.
Jones reached the door of the building where they had been stationed. He looked into the street where several French tanks were stationed and firing as quickly as they could. Debris from the buildings above swept across the street. Charlie moved forward but stopped abruptly as a section of concrete large enough to crush a man smashed in front of him. He immediately went down on one knee, not to present a target to the enemy. He looked to his left where the fortifications were built, the enemy had already reached the perimeter and the two companies in his battalion had fled back to their positions.
To his right he could see Girard shouting at two of his officers by his command vehicle. Things were not going well. Jones got to his feet and ran along the rubble-strewn road keeping his head low until he reached the Colonel. Just as he got there the two officers were given their final grilling and sent on their way. As he neared the vehicle he could see Major Chandra was next to the Colonel.
“Captain Jones, how goes the southern defences?”
“Not great, Colonel, we are giving them hell. The narrow corridor is giving a good field of fire, but we’re burning through ammo.”
“Captain, that is exactly the discussion we were just having,” said Chandra.
“We’re holding just a square kilometre of the city centre but it’s becoming more difficult to hold. However, the city reserve ammunition stores remain intact,” Girard added.
“Where are they stored, Sir?”
“In a secret location beneath a building half a kilometre to the north.”
“Outside our positions, Colonel?”
“That’s right, Captain. Jones, as you know, our communication signals are being jammed. The last news we received was that an airlift was being organised to pull us out, but it’s taking time to organise.”
“Why, Sir? Surely they could evac us within an hour or two?”
“Not that anyone is saying it, Captain, but it seems like we are the only forces to have held out. We are providing valuable time for the civilians to flee and the rest of our forces to amass.”
Jones shook his head. They were buying time for everyone else with their lives. Ultimately he knew it was what they were paid to do as soldiers, but he never thought that it would actually be asked of them.
“Captain, we could potentially be here until tomorrow, but our ammunition stores will only last another couple of hours at most.”
“I am getting the message, Major, what can I do?”
“We need a company to volunteer, I am hoping that would be you, Jones.”
The Captain knew he really had no choice in the matter. Not only that, but he was sick of taking a pounding in their southern positions.
“I’m organising some armour for you now, Captain. You’ll have three heavy tanks and three APCs. Between them they’ll be able to carry more than enough ammunition to keep us in the fight.”
“What sort of resistance do we expect, Sir?”
“I have planned a route for you to take which hopefully should present as few problems as possible. Ultimately, Captain, we simply don’t know. Do whatever you can to bring those supplies back, without them we are finished!”
Jones thought hard about the situation, realising the desperate situation they were in and what weight was being placed on his shoulders. He saluted the two other officers before running off to gather his company. He’d lost so many men, but now he was worrying less about how many casualties he was taking, and more about how many he could save.
* * *
“Major! The General is requesting you immediately!” shouted Friday.
The Major was stood with a grin on his face and a revolving grenade launcher in his arms. The weapon had long been decommissioned by Earth force militaries. It had been considered completely at odds with the modern policing actions that troops carried out. The eight shot, 30mm launcher fired formidable armour piercing or high explosive rounds. Taylor’s face quickly turned to concern as the order was relayed.
“Any idea as to what it’s regarding?”
“No, Sir, the General wants only you and STAT!”
Taylor put the launcher down on the table. Up ahead was the burning wreck of an obsolete armoured vehicle they had been using for testing their new weapons. Alongside the launcher was an array of heavy and unusual weaponry.
“Time to cut this short, gentlemen! Captain, I want you to complete the report for urgent operational requirements. Silva and Parker, grab as much of this kit as you can and get it to our company barracks immediately. I’ll be back soon to introduce the new tools to our men!”
His troops leapt into action as the Major rushed out to where his jeep was parked. The base was still a hive of activity. A number of troops had stopped to observe the tests they were carrying out. Everyone could see that this was a prelim to all out war. Many of the marines on duty stared at the Major as he came out of the stores warehouse, desperate to ask him questions. They all saluted as he passed them. There was no longer anyone on the base of any rank that didn’t recognise Taylor.
The heat in the base was reaching unbearable levels, compounded by the mass activity and necessity of bearing of arms. Taylor wiped his brow and shook off a handful of sweat as he raced across the base. Sweat pockets filled his uniform, only disguised by the disruptive camouflage pattern that he was wearing. He rushed into the operations room without opposition from the guards.
“Major!”
“Sir, the report is on its way.”
“Good work, Taylor, but that’s not why I called you here. We just received a signal from the Moon colony!”
“Is it genuine, Sir? I didn’t think anyone could survive that onslaught.”
“Never underestimate Kelly, we served together a long time ago. If anyone can survive on that occupied hell hole, it will be him!”
“Then he is alive, Sir?”
“And kicking. The surviving forces and civilians have moved underground into a series of bunkers, research centres and tunnels. It seems the survivors are in their tens of thousands.”
“Christ, and we left them there!”
“Major, you had your orders and you carried them out. This is not about right and wrong. We needed the Prime Minister and yourself back on Earth. You could have done nothing to evacuate their numbers!”
Taylor nodded. He felt shame for the loss of so many lives, but he knew that there was nothing more they could have done.
“The Moon has become a guerrilla war. Colonel Visser is dead, but many of the soldiers stationed there, as well as the militia, fight on. Kelly is organising regular missions to find supplies, but they face one big problem. Even when they can get those bastards alone, it’s still a hell of a fight to bring them down.”
“Yes, Sir, I can fully understand that.”
“I refuse to leave those poor bastards to die on that rock. Our forces will continue to amass ready for a major ground assault, but until that time, your new task is to get supplies to Kelly.”
“General White, we are facing worldwide disaster! We must look to our own defences!” shouted Smith.
“We will face our own battles in the days to come, but I will not and cannot leave our people to die up there!”
“Sir, I can fully appreciate the sentiment, but last time we were there we left with our tail between our legs. We can’t outrun or outgun their ships!”
“Not with our technology, Major, but with theirs we can.”
“Sir?”
“Our tech guys have been going over two enemy vessels which we have captured in lightly damaged condition.”
“What happened to their occupants?” asked Taylor.
“That is a subject for another time. From now on you will be liaising with the research and tech teams handling the alien vessels. You will also be organising the Moon supply drop. We cannot send troops up there, but food and weapons are the priority. I want you to find pilots that are both capable and crazy enough to fly such a mission, and ensure that the cargo contains weapons that will give them a fighting chance. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
The Major’s grin stretched across his face. Leaving the Moon colonists was the most difficult decision of his life, but now he was being given a chance to redeem himself.
“I have assigned you my driver, Sergeant Gibbons. You can bring your company officers of NCOs in on this programme, but beyond that, this is between us, Major. Do what you have to do.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Taylor turned quickly and ran out of the room to be greeted by Gibbons who had obviously already been briefed on the situation.