Then it appeared, the ugly metal monster. It turned quickly as it caught sight of the soldiers. Before it could raise its huge energy weapon the Commander fired a single round. The large projectile hit the Mech just off centre of what would be the chest armour of a human. Landing like the punch of a heavyweight boxer, the enemy soldier stumbled back a step before catching its balance.
Kelly could see that the impact had hurt the alien, but it was far from dead. It quickly regained its composure and tried to lift its weapon again to target them. He didn’t wait a second longer, quickly firing off two more shells. Each hit the creature square centre in its mass. The metal suit went limp as whatever was inside collapsed onto the broken glass with a crash. The soldiers stared at their fallen enemy.
“Holy shit,” said Martinez.
Kelly turned to his number two with a smile. Finally they had a chance.
Chapter 9
“General White! Report is in from Commander Kelly!” shouted Taylor.
He blurted out his words before he’d even got through the door of the Command Centre. The Generals immediately turned towards him. Any other time they would have disciplined him for his rudeness, but they were all more anxious to hear what he had to say than to how he told them.
“Speak, Major.”
“At twenty metres, a single round hurt the Mechs bad, second and third finished it immediately!”
The Major had a broad grin on his face. He wasn’t just satisfied that he had been right about the weapons, but that it would be enough to get them distributed and put into action right away.
“That’s damn fine news, Major, good work! However, I must tell you that I have already ordered the release of all stores to be allocated to combat troops and a further mass scale production to commence immediately.”
“Sir? I thought you were waiting on the combat report?”
“For final confirmation, Major, yes. In all honesty, we didn’t have time to wait for it, and we have all come to rely on you in these past days.”
The Major gasped, realising how much responsibility lay on his shoulders.
“The United States will no longer stay out of the conflict in Europe, but our location and our allies, are best served by a direct attack on the enemy. We are about to mount the greatest assault that has been seen in generations!”
“General, the South American Union is willing to commit five thousand troops, as well as ships and aircraft to carry them,” said liaison Flores.
“I have been informed that my government will match that commitment,” said the Canadian envoy, Commander Brown.
“Thank you, then we have a great task ahead of us. We have been planning such an operation for days now. The Air Force has been carrying out almost continuous strikes against the western edge of Tartaros. Our job now is to organise a ground assault.”
“How big are we talking here, General?” asked Taylor.
“Twenty thousand men will be deployed by a combination of air and sea following the last aerial bombardment.”
“How much damage is the Air Force actually doing?” General Smith asked.
“They’re having an effect, that’s for certain. Breaches have opened up all along the monstrosity. Their casualties are high, but they’re getting the job done. Ground forces will enter through these breaches, or blow their own where necessary.”
“What kind of resistance are we expecting?” General Richards asked.
“Honestly we don’t know. The enemy is powerful and in great numbers, that’s for certain.”
“We are throwing twenty thousand men into an unknown situation?” shouted Smith.
General White looked at the man with a pained expression. He was sick of dealing with the indecisiveness of many of his senior officers.
“The fact remains that this is going to be an unknown enemy in an unknown situation for a long time. Till we either get the upper hand and some real understanding, or humanity is wiped off his planet!”
“Major Taylor! Give us your opinion!” General Richards ordered.
“The Major is not authorised to deal with command decisions!” shouted Smith.
“I want to hear the Major out. So far he has been the one constant in this time of uncertainty,” said Richards.
Taylor looked to General Richards. He had plenty to say on the situation but also knew how far he was stepping over the line by doing so. White looked at him, glad that Richards had requested his opinion. White had every confidence in the Major, but doubted the others would take him seriously in command decisions. Finally one of his peers had pushed the Major in the direction he wanted. White nodded to the Major to continue.
“Europe is getting a beating. North Africa is having it worse. We have all but lost the Moon colony, its surviving inhabitants hiding from the enemy. Safe in the Americas, not one of you can imagine the unrelenting horror that the world is facing. Way I see it, we either weigh in and fight alongside the rest of the human race, or we wait out our turn to be whipped.”
“That’s a grim picture you paint, Major,” said Richards.
Taylor pushed his chair back and stood up with a sigh. His leg joints were aching from sitting around for so long, he was not at all used to life at a desk. He walked down to the end of the table where the huge display screen showed the conflict of the world.
“Look at this, all of you. It’s not a map. It’s a document of our losses as a species. We have to join the fight. Our options are to attempt to join the forces in Europe, which are quite frankly a mess. Or, we can open a second front. Hit back at the enemy. Right now, Europe needs us. But in the coming weeks and months, we’ll need them just as much.”
Richards nodded, he hated the planned operation just as much as before, but he was beginning to accept the Major’s words. “If this is the only way, then so be it. But God help us all if it fails.”
“Thank you, Major,” said White.
Taylor went back around the desk, carefully studying their faces as he did. He knew that he would have to fight in the planned operation, just as the Generals knew, it was the overriding factor in their support of his outline of the situation. He took his seat as General White took a deep breath and continued on in a calm voice.
“There it is. We are making the best of a crappy situation, the plans have been drawn up. Major Taylor, report back to your battalion to prepare. I want marching orders sent within the next fifteen minutes to all operational commanders. Let’s get this moving!”
The Major stood and saluted to take his leave as the others continued to begin the process of amassing the resources to make the assault a reality. Taylor had no idea when they intended to carry out the mission, it was above his station. He did however know that he would be able to count in hours the time before they deployed.
The sun was already going down as he reached his battalion drill square. Trucks were lining the previously clear training zone. They were at urgent deployment status. Two men of his company stood guard outside the building with his office, many more patrolled in every direction. The men saluted as he wearily stepped through into the hallway to be greeted by Lieutenant Suarez.
“What’s the word, Major?”
Taylor didn’t respond, he only signalled for the Lieutenant to follow him into the officers’ mess. He opened the door to find it remarkably empty considering it served the entire battalion’s staff. Captain Friday was sat alone and staring at a datapad. He leapt to his feet as he saw the Major enter, but he didn’t ask the inevitable.
“Sit down, Captain.”
The two officers took a seat beside the other.
“You know that I am bound by oath to not divulge any information that was shared in command. All I can do is repeat what you already know. Be ready, be vigilant. Deployment is imminent.”