Nick Thomas - Battle Earth III

The Earth War had raged for two months, but humanity had lost more in the first week than a year of any previous conflict. The Ares research base on Mars had been the first target. The Lunar colony, the only other substantial human colony outside of Earth’s atmosphere had been next. The survivors of the five hundred thousand moon colonists had fled below ground to continue to wage a guerrilla war.

The alien invaders had deployed a base in the Atlantic that had expanded to the size of many countries. Spain and North Africa had quickly fallen. France had been the bastion of Europe, but now lay in ruins. Major Taylor remains on light duty to recover from his injuries. The United States fights at its shoreline, and South America is on the brink of falling. Soldiers from all around the globe fight alongside one another to save their planet.

Major Taylor’s heroic and successful sabotaging of the enemy super weapon at the town of Poitiers had kept the human race in the fight, but him out of it. The marine officer still lay recovering from his injuries as his comrades struggled on. At Ramstein, on the western edge of Germany, the armies of Earth and of the Krycenaean invaders continue to battle through a bitter stalemate.

“Shhh,” whispered Chandra.

She looked back to the road through the thick foliage she was taking cover in. A small enemy column approached in the narrow road at the base of the valley. She lifted her Mappad to check their location. They were five kilometres west of Ramstein; exactly where they should be. She looked down at the exoskeleton suit which was strapped to her body and the huge weapon she bore in her one hand; the weight being of little notice. Come on you bastards, she thought.

Across the roadway she could just make out Captain Friday’s position. He was poised and ready for the onslaught they all eagerly awaited. They outnumbered the enemy three to one and had plenty of Reiter’s new hardware. She took slow deep breaths to calm her nerves. As she breathed out, vapour rose from her mouth. They were rapidly approaching a cold winter, and it was a crisp morning.

The Company had been waiting in ambush since before dawn. Other than the approaching vehicles, the valley was quiet. Even the burning smell of the ruined cities of the country was absent from the tranquil countryside on the border; and the bitter coldness, of being immobile on an autumn morning, was only overcome by the rush of adrenaline from knowing they were about to fight.

Three enemy armoured vehicles approached along the road with over a dozen Mechs visible on top of each of them. They were clearly some form of open top armoured personnel carrier. They cruised along the road at a solid and steady pace, but without any form of urgency; just weeks before, the enemy armour was a frightful sight to the infantry. Come on, Chandra thought.

She licked her lips as they approached, and she envisaged their vehicles burning and Mechs scattered dead across the roadway. It was a brutal thing to wish for. She only accepted the desire in the knowledge that it was them or her. She felt no empathy for the creatures. The Major could only imagine what it must be like to have to face humans in such a conflict. Her hatred ran as deep as the soldiers of the most extreme religious wars in their planet’s history.

The Major stared intently at the approaching force, and she didn’t look back at her comrades again. She knew they had her back. The enemy below were oblivious to their position. Their forces were well concealed within the evergreens of the valley. She could feel the excitement inside her grow as she lifted her weapon into view and readied herself to scream her battle cry.

Her mouth was dry now. The build up of tension had caused her to forget to breathe as she looked down the sight of her weapon. She coughed lightly and took in one last deep breath to be able to bellow the only command she needed.

“Fire!” she cried.

Before she could squeeze the trigger of her weapon, a hail of gunfire rang out. Pulses of light emanated from the tree line as Reiter’s latest weapons rained death upon the invaders. Chandra had been lucky enough to be able to hang onto all of the latest equipment for her Company. Rifle and grenade fire joined the shooting gallery as the volley smashed the enemy vehicles.

Chandra watched as the Mechs tried to leap off the vehicles and out of the line of brutal fire. Many were struck and killed outright before they could get to their feet. She watched in amazement as the creatures were torn apart by their fire. It was a turkey shoot that only made her believe for the first time in weeks that they had a chance. She revelled in the destruction as she continued to fire relentlessly.

The almost continuous hail of gunfire began to die down as Mechs tumbled to the hard mud beside the road, and others slumped lifelessly atop their vehicles. The Major got to her feet and admired the results of their work. Smoke arose from one of the vehicles, and steam poured out from the charred wounds of the Mechs.

Chandra had become accustomed to seeing the sight of dead soldiers, and it always made her feel sick, but not Mechs. She could not see them as people. They were not their equals, and they had no value. Their thick blue blood that seeped out through the gaping holes in their armour was no different to seeing oil leak from a car for the battle-hardened Major.

The valley went silent once again as the Company awaited the Major’s orders. They’re nothing, she thought, and no better than us. We can beat these bastards. Chandra knew the war was far from over, but she was starting to gain some hope of victory. Taylor’s heroic deeds had shown the strength that was left in the human race. She turned and looked to the section beside her, nodding for them to follow her as she waved them forward with her weapon.

The Reitech exoskeleton suits, as they had become to be know after their designer, proved their worth every day. The first few useable suits had been delivered to Brigadier Dupont’s command, but they were still far from a common sight among the human armies. Chandra found the equipment to fit like a glove. Ever concentrating on their enemy, she barely noticed its presence anymore.

She stepped cautiously down the embankment to the carnage below. The stabilisation of the suit kept her balance perfectly on the uneasy terrain, as others slipped and slid on the slope. She reached even ground and stepped over the bloodied body of one of the creatures. Smoke arose from the burning hole in its armour.

Chandra walked past one of the vehicles, but there was no sign of life. She could already hear her troops ripping the cab open to be sure as she moved on to the next. As she approached, a door to the front of the vehicle swung out and smashed into her weapon. The force ripped it out of her hands and broke the sling hook holding it to her side. Her back crashed into the hard hull of the vehicle. Her armour took the impact, but the wind was taken out of her.

A tall creature climbed out and stood before her. The beast towered over the short officer who, with a frame so slight, appeared as a child before the monster. It studied her for just a moment before rushing at her like a charging bull. Its sudden turn of speed caught her off guard, but she still managed to narrowly avoid its strike.

The monster crashed into the side of the vehicle with the loud resonating clash of metal on metal. It wore a skin-tight suit that was of much smaller and less bulky proportions than they had been used to seeing the creatures in. It appeared to offer only minimal protection. From her hunched position, the Major thrust up with the power of her body, and aided by her suit and with all she could muster, delivered an uppercut into the creature’s stomach.