"For many of us, this means fighting on home soil. But let's not forget we have fought this enemy as one, as one race. So don't think of these as foreign lands for those from across the water. This is Earth. This is your homeland. It doesn't matter where we fight because it's all ours, and that's how it's gonna stay. So who's ready to give those bastards hell?"
He got a few cheers, but it was nowhere near the enthusiasm he wanted.
"I said who wants to give these bastards hell?" he boomed even louder.
Every man and woman of the Regiment roared at the tops of their voices, to the extent it brought most passersby to a standstill.
"Nobody ever won a war by being mopey bastards. They won it by being the go getters, the life takers, and the ass kickers you were all born to be!"
Another roar of excitement echoed around the walls either side of them. Taylor was at least satisfied he had riled them up enough.
"This is our land. This is our castle. Take up positions, and be ready to defend it with every fibre of your being!"
With that, he turned and walked away to a cheer from the troops. He headed for the group of officers who stood awaiting him with Jones at their centre.
"Little over the top, don’t you think?”
Taylor shrugged his shoulders.
“It’s what they wanted to hear.”
Jones muttered something under his breath, and it was clear Taylor’s speech had not been his idea of inspiring the troops. Yet he didn't want to admit that it seemed to work.
"Incoming," a voice shouted from the walls above them. The call was being repeated every twenty metres through the base as Taylor rushed up onto the barricade. Hundreds of alien vehicles were approaching. Those tracked were stopped at the lines of traps and barricades that had been built, but skimmers and aircraft continued on.
Huge gun emplacements along the length of the wall opened fire when the first enemy targets came within a kilometre range. Taylor watched, hoping it be enough to bring them down, but even he could see it wouldn't be. A few of the ships exploded, but many more continued on. Pulses from the enemy vehicles soared towards their wall, and Taylor could only duck down into cover and hope for the best.
Thunderous vibrations shook their position, and Taylor felt a little sick from the volcanic like eruptions shaking him about. Two more volleys struck their position before they heard the craft soar overhead. Two were struck by ground weapons and crashed down into the defences and erupted on impact. Taylor got to his feet and looked out across the plain. It was utter chaos, thousands of Mechs advancing on the city and drones out ahead of them in skirmish lines.
He could see swarms of enemy craft on the horizon. He looked across the wall to those standing with him. Jones stood shoulder-to-shoulder with US Army personnel. They were speechless. The battle had only just begun, and yet they could see little hope of victory in sight. No one said a word, but Taylor knew he must. He turned and looked at all the stunned and distraught faces of who fought with him.
"You see them!" he shouted.
It grabbed plenty of attention, as no one else had anything to say.
"You've fought them before! You've beaten them before! You think you're scared? Every army they have sent to this world has been destroyed. So it’s no wonder how they feel."
Many of them nodded their heads in agreement.
"And here we stand, still alive, still fighting. We are what broke all who came before them, and now they face us? They aren't to be feared. The Krys soldier is nothing better than you. He fights without thought or conviction. He fights because he is told to. You fight because it is your duty, and don't you forget it!"
He looked to Jones who still shook his head, but he continued anyway.
"We can beat these bastards! You can beat them. Run them into the ground and finish this once and for all. Erdogan and his armies are all that stands between the peace we have fought so hard for. Let's not give in at the final hurdle!"
He looked back over the wall. The Mech forces we advancing rapidly now, and the gun towers were taking aim and preparing to fire.
"Do not fear death, for it will come to us all one day. Fear defeat! Are you ready to beat these alien bastards?"
Cheers rang out across the line as the gun emplacements opened fire. He didn't need to say another word as troops rushed to the walls to take up positions. The multi-layered platforms gave them three battlements, and Taylor stood atop the highest. Only Jafar stood taller two metres to his side. Taylor gestured for him to come closer, and he quickly obliged. Jafar looked calmer than any of them.
"No bombardment, an immediate assault? Why would they do that?" Taylor asked him.
"Because they are confident of victory," he quickly replied, without pausing for thought.
"They think they're gonna just roll over us?"
Jafar nodded.
"Well, they're welcome to think it, but we ain't going down without a fight."
"So you would die rather than admit defeat? And yet you always ask me why Mech warriors advance without care or caution or regard for their lives. You seem surprised their morale is so hard to break, when you encourage the same in those you command."
Taylor had to think about it for a moment. What he said made perfect sense, and yet it had never occurred to him before. He looked back at the enemy troops advancing. Many were carrying large shields, not unlike they themselves used.
"This Erdogan, he isn't like our enemies of the past. He is not blindly arrogant."
"No," Jafar agreed.
"He's justifiably arrogant," Taylor added with a smirk.
He took aim with his rifle and watched as the first web rounds launched off from nearby marksmen. He was out of the ammunition himself, so simply left others to it. He stopped for another moment and looked at the spectacle before him. Mech warriors advanced in loose formations. Many clung to hovering armoured vehicles that were spaced ten metres or more apart and mixed among them. Their advance against the walls of Baltimore appeared archaic in tactics, and yet there they were, still moving forward.
"Fire at will!" he shouted.
He knew they would anyway. Not one of them could stand and do nothing as the weight of a Mech army bore down on them. He took aim at the nearest creature. It bore a large shield like he had seen on the Mechs aboard the Earth Defence Grid. He squeezed the trigger and watched as his shot ricocheted off the corner of the door-sized shield. He shook his head and fired off two more shots, but both seemed to have little effect.
"That's gonna be a problem."
An automatic grenade launcher spun into action on a tower to his left flank. Explosions began rippling through the advancing enemy, tossing Mechs into the air and ripping through the rear armour of many of the shield bearers. A fixed gun on the wall to his right, which was a large Reitech fixed emplacement gun, joined the fight. Its rate of fire was as slow as a steady heartbeat, but each shot tore apart the shields it struck and punched holes in the vehicles they were sheltering beside.
"More like it."
He caught sight of a few Mechs without shields and quickly opened fire, cutting down one with a burst from his rifle. The weight of gunfire hammered the enemy like a torrential downpour. Their lines were being thinned, but they kept coming.
"We need to upgun!"
"No shit," replied Jones sarcastically.
They kept up the fire as the enemy closed half a kilometre on them. There seemed no way of stopping them besides the physical barricade itself.
"What are they thinking?"
"They must have some way in," Jones answered.
Pulses soared over their heads, and some pounded into the walls close to them, but had little effect against the hard cover they were protected by. The Mechs were just two hundred metres away now, and the hovering vehicles among them began to speed up and make a break towards the wall.