“How long?” shouted Taylor.
“We could be in full production within a few days, with an output of several thousand sets a day. If we can get foreign factories to compliment production, then much faster.”
“What about the cost, won’t all this stuff cost a fortune?” Reyes asked.
“Cost is not important, Captain. We are fighting for the survival of our planet. I only care that it can be done.”
Taylor turned to Reiter. “I want to test it, now!”
“Don’t you want to look over the project a little more first, Sir?”
“No, Reyes. All I care about is if it does the job, or not. Give me a half hour in it, and I’ll have your answer.”
Chandra slammed a new magazine into her rifle and leapt up against the sidewall of the balcony. Tracer fire and energy pulses were streaming across the bridge and the open plains either side of the structure. Smoke belched from two of Becker’s tanks, but they’d given as good as they’d got. She took aim at the nearest Mech. She could see that was using the corner of one of their burning tanks as cover. Bullets pinged off the creature’s armour, a few causing it to spasm, but none stopped it. She ducked back down behind cover as pulses smashed into the bank.
“God damn it, we need more firepower!”
Monty was kneeling beside her loading grenades into his launcher. He locked the weapon shut as he turned to the Major.
“This ammunition isn’t going to last forever, Major!”
He leapt up and fired several rounds at the same Mech. The second hit it and exploded on its chest. The creature shattered into hundreds of parts and scattered across the ground.
“Green! We need ammo!” shouted Chandra.
“Incoming!” shouted Blinker.
She turned to see a group of Mechs inbound using their flying packs. Several dropped amongst the troops in the trenches. Monty looked up to see two descending towards their building. He lifted his launcher and fired at one of them. The Mech burst into flames just ten metres above, showering them in hot metal and forcing them to duck for cover.
The floor shook as the surviving Mech landed hard between the group on the cafe terrace. Chandra looked up just in time to see the monster open fire, two of its pulses killing one of the men immediately. Monty hesitated, knowing they couldn’t risk high explosive rounds so close. The Major lifted her rifle and opened up with full automatic fire. She was quickly joined by the other riflemen and gunners.
The Mech twisted and lurched as it was hit by dozens of rounds, unable to bring its weapon to bear. It managed to turn to face them, giving Chandra the opportunity she needed. She stood up and walked towards it as she fired on full auto into its head. The mirror glass section dented and cracked until it was finally punctured.
The Mech collapsed onto its back. The soldiers sighed in relief, but Chandra walked right up to the creature and trained her rifle on the smashed face plate. She opened fire once again; firing a long burst which sent blue blood spewing up onto her rifle and hands and across the deck. She stared down at the lifeless wreck, wondering what the purpose of it all was. Why were they so intent on ending the human race?
Gunfire continued to rage in the street as Chandra snapped out of her daze and rushed to the side of the building. The airborne Mechs that had landed among them had been overwhelmed and were being finished off, but she could see a number of human dead along the lines. She turned back to Green.
“Get us that ammo!”
She looked over the ledge to see a group of Mechs rushing across the bridge. Becker’s tanks roared as they pounded the incoming enemy push. The troops in the trenches had overcome their airborne attackers and were turning their attention to the new threat. A barrage of fire struck the bridge until they could no longer see what they were shooting. Grenades and cannon rounds continued to plough into the smoke cloud engulfing the bridge.
Two Mechs rushed out from the dust and smoke but were quickly cut down by a volley of fire. Seconds later, the bridge let out an almighty creek as its foundations gave out. They couldn’t see the bridge collapsing, but they heard it plunge into the water below. The smoke puffed out into a plume rising into the sky.
The guns went quiet, and they could hear the enemy Mechs shuffling about at the other side of the bridge. The battle was far from over, but they had been given some respite. Chandra turned back to her platoon with a look of sheer relief. She peered down at the lifeless body of the Mech and then to the body of the soldier it had killed.
The man had died instantly, his body torn apart by the viciously powerful energy weapons of the enemy. She speculated for a moment about their casualties, but she knew it would be a figure she wouldn’t like. The Major had seen a number of dead and wounded along the trench lines. Dust filled her nostrils and lungs once again. The constant bombardments and battles meant that she could rarely taste or smell anything but brick dust and throat burning smoke.
“That will have bought us a little time. Blinker, check the hard line. Inform the Commander of the attack and our approximate losses. We need ammunition and re-enforcements.”
An explosion erupted in the sky above them, quickly followed by several others. The combined air forces of Europe continued to battle the enemy in the skies. They fought at such heights that the ground troops could rarely catch a glimpse of them. Every day they’d find wreckage of aircraft, more often than not it was from Earth forces. She stepped to the edge of the building and looked over at the devastation below.
“Captain Jones! Get the dead and wounded back to the aid station! Check your weapons. Get what ammunition you need, and be ready for the next assault!”
It was a grim reality that they could do little more than await the next onslaught. Chandra knew the only reason they had won the skirmish was because they had superior numbers. Soldier for soldier they were still at a huge disadvantage. She turned back to the fallen Mech and walked across to it.
“What do we do with it, Major?” asked Monty.
“Leave it where it fell as a reminder that they are not invincible. They aren’t scary monsters or an unbeatable enemy.”
She knelt down beside the weapon the Mech had dropped. It was almost two metres in length and made entirely of metal component parts. Despite it looking alien in construction, its external design was not so different to some of the heavy machine guns they used on vehicles. She wrapped her arms around it and tried to lift it. She got one end a few centimetres off the ground before realising it was too much for her.
“God damn that’s heavy. You two, give me a hand with this! Monty, you too!”
The four got a solid hold on the cannon and hauled it up to a standing position.
“Onto that wall over there!”
They hauled it onto the ledge of the thick wall overlooking the fallen bridge.
“You think we can get it working, Major?” asked Monty.
“It’s worth a shot. What do you think the recoil is like on one of these things?”
“Probably pretty minimal, considering its weight.”
He and the Major stared at it as the other two men stood back. She turned and looked back at the fallen Mech. They appeared to have two fingers and a thumb on each hand, a configuration which meant they were not so different to humans in their movement. She turned back to the gun.
“This must be the trigger.”
She placed her hand on the grip and found that her index and middle finger naturally came to rest on what felt like a large button. The grip itself was partially hidden inside the rear body of the weapon. The Mechs carried them with their offhand around the barrel like a heavy gunner would haul his weapon about.
“Major, I think…”
Light pulsed as the weapon fire and an energy surge blasted from their position, hitting a burning vehicle the other side of the bridge. The troops below went silent as they peered up to the bank. Several trained their weapons on the position, half expecting to find an enemy among them. Chandra looked at the weapon in amazement before realising what a shock she had caused.