He continued onwards for several hundred metres until they reached an opening. The corridor led into a vast hall that Taylor suspected was at the heart of the structure. Huge towers reached to the roof. It was in this moment that he asked himself, what the hell do they do here? It was a question none had thought to ask when they conceived the mission. The notion that the base was a central hub for Karadag and his leadership was enough.
“What the fuck?” asked Parker.
They continued out into the vast hall and looked in horror as they began to recognise the unmistakeable form of human bodies contained within capsules on the towers. They were inside glass and lined up in columns on the structures.
“My god, there must be thousands of people here,” whispered Eli.
“Tens of thousands,” replied Chandra.
“What do they want with the bodies?” she asked.
“You’re assuming they are dead,” replied Taylor.
“They’re still alive?” asked Chandra. “Why, and what for?”
“I can think of a few reasons, but none are pleasant,” he replied.
He caught a glimmer of movement and squinted to make out half a dozen Mechs that had identified them from across the hall. They were already closing the distance.
“Guess we won’t have time to find out!” yelled Taylor.
He leapt aside to the cover of some control module unit as the first light pulses smashed into their location. They had all become more familiar with hiding beneath the enemy fire than they would ever have liked. Taylor peered out from behind the structure and noticed more Mechs pouring into the room.
“We aren’t gonna get out of this quick!” he shouted.
Chandra took a look for herself and quickly ducked back into cover as she narrowly evaded an enemy pulse. She sighed, realising they could not afford to stick together, despite the grave danger they faced.
“Take Silva’s platoon and find Karadag. We’ll take care of this!” Chandra ordered.
Taylor looked into her eyes and wanted nothing more than to disagree, but he had fully accepted there was only one way the mission could end in success. He leapt to his feet, and signalled for the others to follow him and made a quick dash for another corridor. He still had little understanding of where they were going. His information told them that Karadag was inside the complex. He could only hope it was right. Up ahead, the Major could see a door open and Mechs pouring out across the route into another corridor. He turned to Silva.
“We have to stop them, or Chandra’s gonna be in the shit.”
“Sir, we have a mission to do,” he replied.
Captain Jones pushed forward and interrupted.
“Our mission is to kill these fuckers, so let’s do it!”
Taylor appreciated the sentiment, but it also concerned him that his friend was so eager to run headlong into danger. Nonetheless, he knew they had to do something.
“Grenades at the ready, let’s cut them off!”
He rushed towards the doorway. It was clear that within all the chaos, they had still not noticed the two platoons advancing at their flank. Taylor got within twenty metres when two of the Mechs turned to fire but were riddled with fire and dropped where they stood. He let his rifle hang and pulled two grenades from his webbing and rushed past the door, throwing them in as he did so.
The Major slid across the door opening and lifted his rifle as he reached the other side. Silva and two of the others arrived quickly with him and tossed in grenades from the other side of the frame. The room erupted with an ear-splitting series of explosions, sending vibrations through the walls and floors around them.
Smoke bellowed out from the doorway, but Taylor was quick to his feet and in through the entrance. He fired on full auto from the hip as he engaged the survivors of the room. Several others quickly joined him. For half a minute, they lit up the room with gunfire as they executed the Mechs who were injured, stunned or separated from their weapons.
The room fell silent and the haze seeped away. They could see the bodies of over fifteen Mechs and not a sign of life between them. They couldn’t feel any remorse for what they had done, nor anything but satisfaction. Many of the enemy had yet to gather their weapons, when Taylor and the others assaulted them.
“Fuck!” exclaimed Parker.
Taylor looked down to see a puddle of dark blue blood that had streamed across the floor and engulfed one of his boots. He felt repulsed by the sight and only felt his blood lust grow. He lifted his rifle and looked Eli.
“Let’s find this bastard.”
She looked shocked by the bitter determination in his face. She hated the alien invaders, but she could not help but feel that a turkey shoot was far from what their duty as soldiers was. Taylor appeared to want only one thing, and at any cost. She prayed he would return to the man she used to know when it was all over, but she was then overcome by the realisation that they had more urgent concerns.
Taylor strode out of the room without a fear in the world. He shot down a passing Mech without breaking stride or raising his shield. He walked like an invincible hero who hunted an inferior being, but none of them wanted to face the creatures’ leader who Mitch was so eager to find. The marines quickly followed behind.
Taylor could see a crossroads up ahead. Movement on the opposite corridor, which opened out into the same area, quickly drew his attention.
“Karadag,” he spat.
He could recognise the shape of the beast from any distance. Taylor had grown to fear the leader who had almost killed him once, but now he was more driven than ever to rip him apart. He lifted his shield and rifle and quickened his pace. Karadag lifted his right arm and tapped a few commands. Taylor heard a vast blast door smash down behind him. He turned quickly to see one of the marines had been sliced in half by the sheer force. Only Eli and Jones had made it through before the rest of the platoons were cut off.
Taylor stopped and looked at the sight with anger, but he couldn’t bring himself to show weakness in the face of the enemy. He turned back to see that Karadag stood awaiting him with a guard either side of him.
“Three on three! Seems a fair fight!” he spat.
Before he could speak another word, he saw Jones leap forward into a sprint.
“Come on, you bastard!” he yelled.
“Jones!” cried Taylor.
It was too late. The Captain had already gained too much speed for them to support him. He fired rapidly on the move, but Karadag skilfully leapt aside. One of the Mechs was struck as it tried to respond to Jones’ charge. Charlie didn’t break stride and continued to rush for the enemy leader in a furious charge, leaping to barge Karadag with his shield.
The enemy leader moved aside and grasped Jones’ shield as he did so. He used his bodyweight and rolled to toss Jones into a nearby wall at high speed. Taylor watched in despair as the alien quickly lifted his stunned friend from the ground and smashed the hilt of his weapon into the Captain’s face. Blood sprayed from his head as his body went limp and was tossed aside.
“No!” cried Taylor.
Karadag turned and confidently righted himself from the other side of the room as if to show his physical superiority. Taylor relaxed his shoulders and lifted up from his hunched position. He unclipped his rifle sling and threw down his rifle.
“What are you doing?” yelled Eli.
Taylor didn’t respond. He stared at Karadag with a murderous gaze. She could tell that he didn’t just want to succeed in their mission. He wanted to make the alien pay. Taylor slowly drew out his assegai and saw the arrogance in the alien’s face. He could see that Karadag truly appreciated close combat and that he had no doubt of success against the Major. Eli turned to him in despair.
“You can’t do this. He’ll kill you,” she whispered.
For a moment he ignored her and eyed up his opponent. Karadag turned and gave some signal for his guard to stay put as he advanced slowly and confidently forward. Taylor admired Karadag for his acceptance of single combat, but it didn’t stop him hating the creature anymore. He turned back to Eli.