Portal Wars 1: Gehenna Dawn (25 page)

“Attention all units, this is Colonel
Taylor.” He was speaking over the open com, addressing every
soldier in the army. “I have issued orders for all units to cease
hostilities. All forces are to remain in current positions until
further notice.” His voice was imperious, commanding…as if he was
daring anyone to disobey.

“Colonel, this is Major MacArthur.” Taylor
sighed. Here it comes, he thought. “What in hell is going on down
there? My people are in position. I need to launch the attack now.”
MacArthur sounded angry and confused.

“No.”

“Colonel, I don’t think you underst…”

“What part of no don’t you understand,
Major.” Taylor’s voice was like death. “Your squadrons are to
return to base at once.”

“Colonel, my orders are to…”

“Your orders are whatever I say they are.”
Blackie and the other officers were standing around staring at
Jake. They couldn’t hear what MacArthur was saying, but they’d
never heard anything like the menace in Taylor’s tone. He wasn’t
shouting…not even raising his voice. But there wasn’t a man present
who would question anything Taylor said now. “If you disobey me, I
will order every AA asset in the army to target your force.” A
short pause. “Do we understand each other?”

MacArthur was silent for a few seconds, but
he scraped up the courage to come back at Jake one more time.
“Colonel, I will not disobey your orders, however I intend to make
a full report when I return to base.” He cut the line.

Taylor stood still for a few seconds, the
angry look on his face giving way, yielding to an amused smile.
Pompous ass, he thought…if only he knew how much I didn’t give a
shit.

He turned back toward Black. “Don’t look so
glum, Blackie.” He walked toward his oldest friend. “I know what
I’m doing.” He paused, noting the doubtful expression on Black’s
face. “Really, I do.”

“Whatever you say, Jake.” Black still sounded
concerned…and even more confused. He’d been worried about Taylor
for some time, and he was afraid his friend had finally lost it.
Still, he wasn’t ready to challenge him. “You know I’ll do whatever
you say.”

“I know.” He reached out and put his hand on
Black’s shoulder. “Just trust me, my friend. I’ll fill you in on
everything.” He panned his head around, looking at the faces
staring in his direction. “Just not here.”

From the Journal of Jake Taylor:

Back on Earth I was an obedient
citizen. More or less, at least. I had the occasional gripe, as
most people do, but basically I believed what I was taught and did
what I was told. That began to change on Erastus. I saw things, not
just the suffering all around me, but the gulf between the UN
staffers and the lifers, like my men and I. I saw the injustice,
the culture of superiority among them. I began to realize the
inadequacy of the justifications we were given. I became bitter. I
began to resent – and later hate – the system that sent me to this
terrible place...without even the hope of coming home. I finally
resolved to quit, only to be blackmailed into returning to my
post…on pain of my closet friends being persecuted if I
refused.

I long had my doubts about much of
what the government and the high command did, the decisions they
made and the often callous way they treated the soldiers fighting
this war. But even in my angriest moments…even when Kazan was
threatening to murder those closest to me…I had never perceived a
shadow of the ghastly truth. No matter how upset I was or how much
I chafed under the directives of UN Central, I had always believed,
at least, that I was here defending mankind from an alien doom.
Now, even that has been stripped away from me. My faith in our
cause, and all the times I sought refuge in that belief…it all
seems like the worst sort of idiocy now. Why was I such a
fool?

Why are people so easily led? Why do
we believe the things we are told, demanding no proof, no evidence?
How do we fail, time and again, to think for ourselves? Why do we
discover one fraud, only to willingly accept the next one without
question? Because we’re told to…taught to? Because our parents
did…or, in the case of my father and I, because he didn’t and I
wanted to rebel against his constant tirades?

How much of what we are told is
true? Government, teachers, family…how many are honest? How many
lie? How many unwittingly pass on their own ignorance? The history
we are taught…what of it is true, and what is fabrication? What
ethical codes that we follow are truly just, constructed from our
core beliefs, and which are constructs, created by evil men to
control people’s thoughts, their actions? The smarter, the wiser
among us…those with the foresight and intelligence to see through
what our world has become…do they languish and die in the
reeducation facilities, ignored by the masses, who obediently write
them off as crazy fools, menaces to society?

Is there even such a thing as
“reeducation?” Or are those dark places simply death camps, where
any who stand against the established order are sent to
disappear?

I have changed in many ways since I
was sent here to fight an unjust war. I have mourned the loss of my
family and watched friends die in agony, terrified and far from
home. There is almost nothing left of me, of Jake Taylor, the man.
I have become soulless death.

But I have one thing left to live
for, one force that drives me forward with relentless
determination. I will have vengeance. For me. For the thousands who
have died on Erastus and the other Portal worlds. For the men and
women who fought alongside my father and saw all they loved about
their nation stolen from them, for the billions forced to live
under the yoke of UN Central. For the Tegeri, who sought only to be
mankind’s teachers, but became their victims instead.

I will destroy the creatures who
have wrought this…and those who have come after them, filled their
shoes and perpetuated this monstrous war for their own gain. I will
tear down this unholy evil stone by stone, and I will see UN
Central burned to ashes before these eyes close for the last time.
This I swear, with all that remains to me.

Death to all who are complicit in
this horror. To any who work to perpetuate it…for any who are part
of this are stained with the guilt, as are those who offer them aid
or succor. They must be eradicated from the universe, hunted down
wherever they may seek to hide and utterly destroyed. Like an
infection. There can be no pity, no mercy…and any who offer such
are as guilty as those they comfort.

This is my oath, and I pledge to it
my blood, and all of my soul that remains to me. Nothing shall
stand in my way…and any who try will become my enemies. My
victims.

The room was silent except for the faint hum
of the ventilation system. Taylor stood in the center, staring
down, moving his eyes over his seated friends. He’d just told them.
About T’arza, the Tegeri, the war. Everything.

“So…” He broke the silence after a minute or
two. “…you guys believe me? Or do you think I’m crazy?”

“Jake, you know we’re with you 100%.” Blackie
spoke after another uncomfortable silence. “But this is a lot to
absorb.” His tone was confused, uncertain. Tony Black would never
disbelieve anything Jake told him…but this was truly extraordinary.
Black had already been worried about Taylor’s mental state, and now
this?

“Blackie…all of you…I know you guys have my
back. You’re the best friends I’ve ever had. And I know this sounds
crazy.” Taylor’s voice was calm, focused. He reached into his
pocket and pulled something out. “But it happened exactly as I
said.” He held up a small medallion hanging on a chain. It was
silvery in color, but unlike any metal they’d ever seen. It seemed
to be constantly changing its hue, giving it a shimmering effect.
“T’arza gave me this before the Tegeri released me. The design is
the sigil of his house.” He paused, looking over toward one of the
blank featureless walls. “But it is quite functional as well as
decorative.”

As he finished speaking, images appeared in
front of the wall. Holograms…three dimensional video, depicting the
first human colonies on New Earth. They were under attack…not by
the Machines, but by heavily-armed soldiers. Human soldiers.

Every eye was on the projection,
watching…wincing at the atrocities portrayed before them. No one
spoke…they barely breathed as they stared in shock at the horrors
Taylor displayed for them.

“This device is pretty strong proof I was
with the Tegeri.” Taylor spoke softly. “It’s certainly nothing
built by man.” He took a shallow breath. “And the revelation they
provided me was simply this…it wasn’t the Tegeri and the Machines
who started this war…it was UN Central. It was all a plan to
facilitate the Consolidation.”

“Jake…” It was Hank Daniels, sounding shaky,
uncertain. “…how do we know this is real? I mean, we believe you,
of course, but how do we know the enemy isn’t playing all of
us?”

Taylor walked toward his friend, taking a
seat on the edge of the long sofa. “We don’t, Hank.” He looked over
at the others. “The truth is, we have to decide what we
believe.”

“But you’ve decided.” Karl Young looked over
at Taylor. The excitable officer was uncharacteristically calm.
“Haven’t you, Jake?”

“I have, Karl. But you all need to make your
own choices.”

“Why, Jake?” It was Black, sounding
skeptical. “Why do you believe this is true? It could all be a
fabrication, an attempt to sow confusion in our ranks. If UN
Central could make fake vids to show us, so could the Tegeri.”

“You’re right, Blackie.” Taylor didn’t
argue...he just nodded as he spoke. “I was skeptical too, at first.
But the more I heard, the more sense it all made to me.”

“This makes sense to you?” Bear spoke slowly,
softly. “Could men really be responsible for this? Can we take an
alien’s…an enemy’s…word for something like this?”

“No, Bear. We don’t take anyone’s word.”
Taylor stood up, the calmness in his tone giving way, showing a
sliver of the suppressed anger. “For anything. We’ve done far too
much of that already. We’ve accepted what we’ve been told…followed
orders without question. We have aided this fraud in our own way,
as have all Earth’s citizens. That must end.”

Taylor paused, looking around the room,
seeing the uncertainty in his friends’ faces. “You must each decide
what you believe…and what course of action you will pursue.” He
hesitated again. “But think about all you know. Remember the way
the UN staffers have treated you. The disrespect, the contempt.
Think about the time before you came to Erastus. How much of your
life was ruled by fear. Fear of penalties, of persecution…of ending
up in a reeducation camp? How many of you went hungry? Blackie…how
many nights did you sleep in the streets, just trying to find
someplace safe enough to close your eyes. How many people went to
reeducation camps and never returned?” He panned his eyes, looking
at each of them in turn before he continued. “Ask yourselves…is
Earth’s government trustworthy?”

Taylor walked slowly across the room. “T’arza
told me the Tegeri and the Machines would leave Erastus in four
days.” He stopped and turned back to face the others. “It has been
two days. Have you seen a report of any enemy activity? You all saw
the enemy withdrawing in front of us. Every one of you knows full
well they had enough force there to give us one hell of a
fight.”

There was another long silence, everyone
present deep in thought. Finally, it was Black who spoke first.
“OK, Jake.” His didn’t sound convinced, but the skepticism was
mostly gone from his voice. “Suppose we agree with you. What do we
do about it?”

“We take our vengeance Blackie.” Taylor’s
tone turned dark, ominous. “We destroy them…all those responsible
for this abomination.” He glared at the seated officers, his eyes
on fire.

They all stared back at Taylor, stunned looks
on their faces. Bear was the first to respond. “Jake, we’d follow
you to hell…you know that. But how are the five of us supposed to
take on UN Central?”

“A step at a time, Bear.” Taylor spoke
confidently. “First, we unite the forces on Erastus.” His body
tensed, his anger filling him with determination. “Let the
revolution begin here…on this hell to which we were consigned.”

“Some of the boys will follow, Jake…most of
our guys probably.” Black looked at Taylor, staring right into his
eyes. “But UN Central will brand us as traitors…they will order all
the other forces on Erastus to oppose us.” He paused. “You know we
will never convince them all. What do we do with the rest?”

Taylor stared back at Black, a pitiless cold
in his eyes. “We fight them, Blackie. We kill them.” His voice was
unemotional, almost deadpan. “They must side with us…or become our
enemies. Any who stand in our way must be destroyed.”

The room fell silent again. Taylor gave them
a minute to consider his words before continuing. “I know that is
an upsetting prospect. But this is no time for half measures. There
is no way to overstate the horrendous evil that has been
perpetrated…upon us, upon all the citizens of Earth, upon the
Tegeri.”

Taylor began pacing across the room as he
spoke, stopping to look intently at each man present. “Think about
the scope of what has happened. Remember the families you left
behind…those of all the soldiers on Erastus. Imagine your mothers –
or sisters or girlfriends – looking up at the stars, eyes raw from
crying, thinking of you, the pain of loss still fresh. All that
suffering, all that sacrifice. And not just Erastus…but on 40
worlds. The thousands dead. Every bloody, scared kid any of us has
held as he took his last rattling breath. All a waste…an endless
parade of horrors. So a few men could make themselves the world’s
masters.”