Authors: Nick S. Thomas
He stopped at the door for only a second and jumped. The copters had been flying at just over two hundred metres from the dusty surface, so it was a quick descent. His boosters lit up the space beneath him as they dropped. It quickly become apparent they were landing right on top of a complex system of enemy trenches which had not shown up in any of their intelligence reports and satellite imagery. He could only assume they covered it by day, but there was no time to worry about that now.
Pulses raced up at them from the enemy positions below, and far more fire was sent down from the airborne as they descended. Inter-Allied, and Italian forces from 3rd and 4th Mechanized Infantry formed their 5th Brigade. It was the first time the Italians had seen combat, but Taylor was confident they would hold their own.
He was approaching a Mech at high speed, despite his boosters slowing him rapidly. The creature was firing up at several of his comrades. He opened fire with his rifle and got off three shots before landing on top of the alien. His weight smashed it off its feet. He quickly got up and could see his shots had killed it before he’d even landed.
A quick assessment of his surroundings found he stood inside thick concrete-like trenches. They were three metres wide by two deep, tall enough so that he could not see out over the top. He jumped up onto the body of the Mech to get some view all around. As he did so, he caught a glimpse of an enemy Mech advancing around a bend in the trench, but before he could respond, gunfire ripped into the soldier. He looked up. Jafar was above the trench and firing in.
Gunfire sounded all around; more of theirs than the enemy. Jafar jumped down in the trench to his side.
"Why the hell didn't we know about these positions?" Taylor asked.
Jafar seemed as baffled as him. Several of Jones' platoon joined him.
"All right, let's sweep and clear."
He lifted up his rifle and continued on down the line. The first thing they encountered were three Mechs firing over the trench line at the incoming friendlies. They fired several bursts, moving in on the aliens, killing them before they could respond.
"At least it looks like we did actually catch them by surprise. Thanks to you, no doubt," he said to Jafar. He’d been instrumental in their counter-intelligence operations leading up to the invasion.
They continued north along the line of defences and found little resistance until they reached the farthest point of the trenches looking out north. Taylor reached for a flare from his webbing and fired it up into the sky. They saw open barren land for as far as the light extended.
The gunfire in their location was already calming down, but they could hear the battle raging a few kilometres away at the coastline. Jones finally found the Colonel and had a look of utter shock about him.
"Surely it can't be this easy?"
"No, it can't, and it won't be. We could have attacked anywhere, so they would have had to spread thin to defend the borders and coastline. Now they know we're here, they'll come for us with everything they've got."
"How long do you think we have?" asked Jones.
"Not long at all. This is where they'll hit us. Get our anti-tank guns deployed along this line, and find out how the beach operations are going."
Jafar stood silently, looking out into the pitch-black wasteland to the north.
"Maybe we did hit them with overwhelming numbers. They must be weakened from the fight in the east. "
"Yes, they are, but not finished, Charlie."
"No, never underestimate a wounded animal."
They waited in the trenches for an hour before Jones received solid information.
"Most of the beaches have been taken, supply lines are being established, and the armour should be with us within a few hours."
"Then let's hope that's soon enough."
As he said it, they heard the sound they feared the most, heavy tracks from an armoured column advancing from the north.
"They better be quick!" yelled Taylor, lifting his binoculars and switching to night vision. Across the open flat plain, he could just make out the vehicles which were over ten kilometres out and merely silhouettes at present."
"How long do we have?" asked Taylor.
"Maybe twenty minutes."
"Get those guns ready!"
There was nothing more to do but wait for the enemy and await reinforcement. They carried magnetic mines for taking on the tanks if the trenches were over run, but all prayed they would not have to use them. The time seemed to pass quickly. Taylor sat beside one of the portable anti-tank weapons they had brought with them. It was as large as a man and needed two to carry it. They had just a dozen of the weapons within the Brigade.
"Concentrate fire on the two targets given. I want them to think we're punching above our weight," he said into his comm.
"Six guns on two vehicles?" asked Jones.
"I'd rather be sure to nail two than risk spreading our fire. They need to think we've got a lot more here than we have."
"You don't think we can hold against them?"
"Not without armour, no. I can see dozens of tanks heading our way, and I bet there are many more en route."
"How about the airborne armour?"
"It's nowhere to be seen, is it?"
"Bugger."
They had entered into range. Taylor looked down the trench, and the troops were almost shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Fire!" he yelled.
The six guns fired almost in perfect synchronisation. He looked through his binoculars to see one smashed by the fire with two holes having direct hits on the centre of its hull. The other vehicle seemed to brush off the fire and kept moving.
"Shit," he whispered to himself. "Reload!"
The crews were already well ahead of him.
"All fire to be directed on previous target."
The first enemy tanks opened fire and pulses smashed into the ground before and after Taylor's trench.
"Fire!"
The salvo struck the enemy tank, five out of the six shots landed, crippling the vehicle immediately. Smoke belched from its cracked hull.
"Reload and fire in your own time."
Two more of the enemy vehicles fell soon after, but they were now within a kilometre of the trenches and showed no signs of stopping. The intensity of the bombardment was increasing, and dozens of casualties were being reported in the nearby positions alone.
"God save us if they reach here," said Jones.
Taylor pulled out one of the magnetic charges, but it seemed a near hopeless situation if it came to the point of using it. He hunkered down to the trench edge and held the mine ready to deploy. The ground began to shake as they approached.
"Five hundred metres!" warned Jones.
Then their hearts almost stopped as lights flashed to the east, and the cannon fire rang out. Taylor could see a tank regiment approaching and firing with everything they had. He turned back to the battlefield. Half a dozen enemy vehicles were smashed beyond recognition in the initial salvo. Cheers rang out across the trench lines as the enemy advance ground to a halt.
The battle raged on for two hours amongst the armour. They could do little but appreciate the cover they had inherited and hunker down to wait for it all to be over. By midnight, all had gone quiet, and both sides began to settle in till morning. It was just half an hour into the peacefulness when Jones got out his stove and began to brew up. Taylor smiled as he propped himself up against a trench wall nearby. The excitement of the initial attack was over. For once they had gotten it easy.
"Jafar thinks they'll be falling back through the night," he said.
"I would if I were them. They must have spread themselves thin over thousands of kilometres of shoreline. We're closing in on them now. They must know the end is in sight."
"And yet they still came. They came to Earth with too little, too late," replied Taylor.
"They didn't come for a stand up fight at all, remember. They're trying to survive us, not the other way around."
It was true, and for the first time Taylor was starting to realise how scared they must be, just as they had been in the first war.
"I want Demiran before this is over."
"You and the rest of the world, Mitch."
"No, he's rightfully ours. I want to see that son of a bitch bleed, and I want to see him die at the hands of one of ours."
"We usually get pushed to the front, so there's a good chance of it."
"Chance? That’s not good enough."
"There is a way of finding him."
The two of them were shocked to hear Jafar's voice. It came from up over the trench into the darkness that divided them from the enemy. He jumped down from the edge into the trench. They were both glad his abilities were put to good use with them, as he was a league apart from the regular Mech infantry.
"Go on," said Taylor.
"I know the way he thinks, and I know the way he plans. If I could get a view of their positions, in maybe just an hour or two, I'd know."
"But they must surely be moving constantly."
"If you could get me overhead of the K'til and the positions they have setup there, I could identify Demiran's location by morning."
"But how long would he be wherever you find him?" asked Jones.
"A day, maybe two."
"It could be enough."
"We can't move anywhere without orders."
"Armoured divisions will be heading north at first light. Our job here is done. We'll be heading southeast to take on the main force," replied Taylor.
"Well, probably, but not like we know for sure."
"Sure enough," he said, turning to Jafar.
"So with a little time of aerial surveillance, you reckon you can find him?"
Jafar nodded.
"I can't get you much. Rains is probably crazy enough for it, and one of the only pilots who would do so without asking questions."
"Mitch, you're treading on dangerous ground here, very dangerous.”
“What are we doing here? We came here to end Demiran and rid our world of the enemy. What if we could do that in a day, or a week?”
“Then we take it to Phillips, who will take it to those who have the authority to make that happen. I was reckless once, and you know that almost cost me my life. Don’t do this alone.”
“I’m not doing it alone. I’m asking you to come with me, all of you. We find where Demiran is, and take this brigade right for him.”
“The numbers don’t add up. We can’t take on the might of their entire armies.”
“We won’t. We’re going for Demiran. Just him.”
Jones shook his head realising Taylor would not be swayed.
“Get Rains down here. I want that information before first light.”
Jones had to accept it because no matter what, he would support his friend. In little over an hour, Jafar was lifting off aboard the copter. The rest lay in their trenches and waited. There was no sign of the enemy that night, only the sound of the odd trade of fire between the armour ahead of them.
“Tomorrow we’ll be ordered south to take on Demiran’s main forces around the K’til.”
“And you intend to speed up that process, Mitch?” Charlie asked.
Parker had been sitting with them for a while, and she joined the conversation.
“And an opportunity to end Demiran’s life. When we killed Karadag, they were beaten,” Taylor said.
“I didn’t say he didn’t need to die. If I thought it were that easy, I’d be all for it. But we are one Battalion. Even if we could get the rest of the Brigade aboard, it’ll be crazy odds.”
“The rest of the Brigade will follow, Charlie. They will follow because it’s us. Our reputation means to a lot to them, and I bet it means a lot to Demiran too.”
“What do you mean?” asked Parker. “Oh, no, no, no, no. You want to draw him out. You want to bait him with the great champions who killed his kin. You’re more crazy than I thought.”