"Well, okay then, load up and move out!"
He watched as Watkins and Abbot headed for the 50CMG and hauled it onto their shoulders. May followed after them with the tripod. It was a clumsy piece of equipment, but he like the thought of having some big guns at his side.
"Really are a pig," muttered Abbot.
Taylor strode aboard the Mercury that awaited him and noted the name on the side, 'Gerty'. He could see from the repairs it was indeed the same ship they had been in for the mission to the space gateway that nearly ended in their deaths. As he stepped inside, he found Rains already in the pilot's seat.
"You got her going again?"
"Yes, Sir, the old girl is back."
"Don't you think the fact she almost killed us first time out is reason enough to leave her on the bench?"
"What are you talking about, Colonel? How many died on that mission?"
"None."
"And how many wounded?"
"None."
"So what you’re saying is she got us all home safe and sound, and she was the only one that got hurt? Sounds like our guardian angel to me."
Taylor shook his head.
"You’re a funny son of a bitch, you know that?"
"Hell, yes I do. You gotta keep smiling, Colonel. Enjoy life while we still have it."
It wasn't long before they were lifting off, and even sooner, they were landing aboard the Valentine. It was almost two days’ journey to Atlantis. Taylor's first glance at the planet was through the cockpit of Gerty. Oceans spanned almost half the world. That alone made it inviting to the human eye.
"Looks familiar, doesn't it?" Rains asked.
He was right. It did look a lot like Earth from afar. But as they passed through the atmosphere, they could see much of the surface was dry craggy land.
"Is that..." started Rains.
They were looking at the layout of a city, and yet only remnants of the foundations remained that told them so.
"A city? Looks like it was a hell of a long time ago."
"So something lived here?"
"Or still does," replied Taylor.
They put down half a kilometre south of the edge of the old city where they found a compound that had been built by the first teams to reach the planet. Nobody came to greet them as they landed, but they could see various personnel about the site. Taylor was first out and looked up at the sky and at the ground all around him. It was not unlike parts of North Africa where he had fought Demiran. He could feel the heat rising from the ground. The rays of light from the sun were so strong; he could feel his eyes stinging from the intensity. He immediately activated the UV filter and dimmed the mask of his helmet.
"Doesn't look half bad," said Parker.
"And yet none of them look to happy to be here," added Lieutenant Anders.
Taylor looked to Jafar for information, but it was clear he had none. He looked up to a guard tower overlooking their landing zone. Even from afar, he could see the body language of the woman on duty. She looked lost and sick. It was a look of loss he would expect to see in a soldier after days of brutal combat.
"What aren't you telling us, Mitch?"
"All I know, Eli, is some strange shit is going down here, and it's our job to find out what."
"So what now?"
"You are to stay on base, Anders, and investigate here. Talk to whoever is in charge, talk to anyone who will do so. Find out whatever you can."
"I am no detective."
"No, you're a problem solver with a gun. Get to it. The rest of us are heading into the remnants of that city. I figure whatever is going on here, it's probably got something to do with that place."
"But what is going on here?"
He ignored Parker’s question.
"Anders, you have your orders. Everyone else, on me."
He carried on walking right out of the base without a word to anyone in it.
"I don't like this at all," said Parker, "We're just wandering around with absolutely no idea what we're doing. What was really our purpose of coming here?"
"The Admiral didn't say it. But I believe he is concerned a force is at work here that threatens our plans for colonisation."
"Force? What force? All I have seen is a few pissed off and bored marines. There's nothing new there."
They carried on across the open plain towards the remains of the city ahead. It was a bizarre experience. Taylor almost felt as if was in a dream. It was almost like Earth, but he knew it wasn't.
"Sir?"
"Go on, Watkins."
"Well, Sir, it's like this. The aliens came to Earth because they wanted our planet, right?"
"Yeah, so I'm told."
"But this one seems pretty good to me. Why did they fight us for ours when they could have had this one, no trouble?"
Taylor grimaced. It made him think of all kinds of possibilities in his head, and none of them were good.
"Jafar, you said your people call this death space, or whatever. You want to shed some light on that? It could well explain the Private’s concerns."
"All that I know have told you. The Krys know that those who venture here do not return."
"The implication that something dwells here that doesn't like you too much?"
"Yes."
"And you thought that being human we'd just be okay?" Watkins asked.
"It was a logical gamble, as you say."
Watkins suddenly tripped and stumbled, dropping the barrel of the pig as he tumbled rather ungraciously into the dirt.
"What the hell?" he asked.
He got up and went back to the gun. He noticed something metallic sticking out from the ground that he had kicked and scraped. Taylor had seen it, too, as the sun glinted off the surface it had revealed.
"Well that's not natural."
Watkins knelt down beside it and scraped away the sand and dirt off it as the others looked on. He stopped when he revealed the shape of a metallic hand and forearm.
"Krys..." said Taylor.
Several of them were spooked and looked around half expecting trouble to come their way, but nothing happened. Jafar knelt down, got a hold of the object, and pulled it out from the ground. It was just the gauntlet and forearm from Mech armour. There was no sign of living remains inside. Jafar looked at it curiously and with suspicion.
"What is it?" Taylor asked.
"This armour, it is Krys, but old, and maybe five hundred of your years. I have only seen such armours used for the guards of honour to the Lords of Worlds."
"How long do you think it's been here?"
"Some time at least."
"What does that mean?"
"Right now, Watkins, it means shit," replied Taylor.
He looked to Jafar.
"You've really told us everything you know of this place?"
"Until now I did not know of the existence of this planet."
That was enough for Taylor. He carried on and followed what loosely resembled a road into the city. The surface had long been covered over with sand and dirt and not a single wall over a metre tall still stood.
"What do you think happened here?"
"I'd say someone went all out and flattened it, Parker."
It made sense, but it was just a guess. They paced through the ruins, looking for a sign of anything. Something that might tell them who and what lived there, and what had caused their destruction. Taylor suddenly noticed a small buzzing noise behind him. He turned to see a tiny flying object, not more than a couple of centimetres wide floating before him. It glinted in the sun and appeared to be mechanical. There was distortion all around it by what appeared to be the motion of wings or fans.