Nick Thomas - Battle Earth VI

"I'd like to say I'm lucky. But I don't feel lucky. I ache like hell," he retorted with a smile.

They got back to his private quarters to find them just the way he had left them, spotless. All squared away and with little sign of a living inhabitant at all. He stripped off his armour and suit, throwing it all to the floor with no care in the world.

"Damn it feels good to be out of that thing."

He felt Parker's arms wrap around his shoulders from behind, and the soothing feeling of human contact made him relax immediately and feel drowsy.

"We've got one night till the shit hits the fan again," he said.

"Then let's make the most of it."

Taylor stepped out of his quarters feeling fresh and invigorated. A jeep awaited him with Captain Ryan at the wheel.

"’Morning, Colonel!"

"Glad to see you made it," he replied.

"Likewise, Sir."

"How is the Deveron?"

"She's been through hell, but she'll be back on the line in no time. Like a lift?"

"Sure."

He climbed aboard, and as the open topped vehicle got moving, he revelledin the fresh air gushing past.

"So it looks like we have a land battle on our hands?"

"Seems so."

"Most of the Navy ships are either seaborne or space based. The Deveron is capable of operating effectively inside Earth's atmosphere with a larger payload capacity than almost anything else in the air."

"I remember."

"What I'm saying is; my crew don't want to be left out of this fight that is coming, Colonel."

"I wouldn't be so eager to get your heads blown off."

"Why, should somebody else take the risks for us? The Deveron is one of the most capable assets the Navy has, and since the death of Reyes, the crew are all to eager to stick it to the enemy."

"So this wasn't just a courtesy call?"

Ryan turned to see the comical expression on his face.

"It's good to see you alive and all that, Sir, but we want in this fight, and you're the man who can assure it."

"The enemy have come to Earth in great numbers. We're going to need any and all assets available to us. However, if you’re eager to be attached to Inter-Allied, I can see to making ways for that to happen."

"Thank you, Sir. It would be much appreciated."

"You won't be thanking me when you're up to your ears in shit and having to fight them face to face."

"Been there and got the t-shirt."

Taylor thought back to their intelligence-gathering mission and remembered he was right.

"The Deveron has been good to us, both under the command of Captain Reyes and yourself. Good luck charms are hard to come by. I'll see to it that we continue to work together."

They arrived at conference hall of the base to find it guarded by twenty fully armoured marines with armoured vehicles covering all roads.

"Thank God for that. We're actually prepared for a change," whispered Taylor to Ryan.

The guards waved them through without checking IDs. There was not a marine on base who did not recognise Colonel Taylor.

"Are you authorised to be here?" he asked Ryan.

"I'm with you, aren't I?"

Taylor laughed.

"One day I'll break a rule too many, and it'll be my balls on the line."

"Haven't you already been through that?"

Taylor nodded.

"Hell, yeah."

They stepped through to see a hundred officers had gathered. Most were US Marine and Navy and with a small handful of foreign representatives. Jones was already inside as the number two for their Battalion. White spotted Taylor, and it was clearly the signal for things to get moving.

"All right, Gentlemen, Ladies, be seated!"

A display screen behind him, several metres wide, had a map of Earth up but with no annotations of information as of yet.

"First of all, I'd like to thank and congratulate the Liberty Battlegroup on a job well done. Admiral Huber gave up his life, along with so many others in defence of Earth, and as a result, we are still here today to carry the torch!"

Cheers rang out.

"Allright, all right. It should also be noted that were it not for the daring efforts of Colonel Mitch Taylor of the 2nd Inter-Allied, none of this would have been possible."

Cheers and clapping continued, but White soon drew them to a close.

"As much as we'd all like to celebrate our successes and pin medals on the uniforms of many deserving men and women, the fight isn't over."

The General got up from his seat and stood beside the map with a stick. He refused to use the laser pointers that had become the norm. He did, however, have an assistant sitting at the table ready to overlay the information as he spoke.

"This is what we do know. The so-called Planet Killer was blown into two pieces, and its descent was assisted by other enemy vessels to put down in North Africa. We're still having trouble getting satellite images as the EMP damaged many of them, but we expect that to change within the next day or so."

He lifted his cane to the map.

"The landing sites appear to be in Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. Now you all know that these areas were ravaged during the first war, as they were some of the first targets struck. Many of the refugees who got out have never returned. So much of those countries are wastelands. This may well be the reason they chose the area, but they may not have had a choice. We cannot confirm either way at this time."

He took a deep breath, preparing himself for the next stage.

"Sergeant Jafar, who by now you are all aware of, has spent the last few hours analysing all the images and information we have to make some projection at the enemy strength."

A loud cough echoed around the room that was a deliberate interruption to make a response. It came from Lieutenant General Smith.

"Are we basing our knowledge of this enemy force on an alien who used to be not so long ago one of them? From what I understand, he was the personal bodyguard to the leader of this force."

Taylor opened his mouth to speak in defence of Jafar, but he was not given the opportunity. A fist was slammed violently down on the sturdy table, causing several present to recoil. Taylor turned to see it was Commander Kelly who he had not previously noticed.

"Sergeant Jafar is one of the finest men I have ever met, and I will not have ill spoken of him. When this war began, my colony was left to fend for itself for many months, and yet when it came time to take it back, it was Sergeant Jafar at the front with heroes like Taylor who fought for us. Let's just remember that there are good people, and there are scumbags in all society and all walks of life. He may not be born one of us, but he is a better man than many I have known."

Kelly's booming voice and damning response to the General silenced the room. Despite having no authority on Earth, his presence and opinion held weight among many. Taylor did not feel he could respond after Kelly's praise for both him and Jafar. Kelly had one hated Taylor, just as he had hated every alien. Now they were as one fighting a common cause.

"Gentlemen, please let us keep this civil. Sergeant Jafar has proven himself time and time again. Despite my initial doubts, he has my full support, and I will not have his loyalties questioned by anyone. Now let's move on."

General Smith slumped back in his chair and avoided eye contact with both Kelly and Taylor. Taylor knew Smith wasn't a bad man or a bad officer, he just had no field experience and understanding of the way the World was changing.

"As a rough estimate, Sergeant Jafar and our intelligence analysts have put together an idea of what we are facing. They believe the enemy force could include up to five hundred thousand soldiers. Armour and numbers are unknown, but Jafar believes much of their number will have been destroyed aboard the K'til."

"Hang on, five hundred thousand soldiers?" asked Richards.