Dupont nodded, and Taylor had to gamble on the fact he was right.
"Sir, I know where Erdogan is. I want to take a shot at taking him out, but I need help."
"That it?" Heath asked.
Taylor looked to Dupont and shrugged in surprise.
"I have no time for your wild ideas, Taylor. We've got a war on our hands, like nothing we've ever seen before. We need you. Your people need you. Get back here and do your duty."
"Negative, Sir. I will do my duty, but if that conflicts with your orders, then so be it."
"You will obey my command, Colonel."
"No, Sir, I won't. I fought alongside you because our paths coincided, but I am not under your command."
"You can't just pick and choose which orders you follow, Colonel. You are an officer in the United States Marine Corps!"
Taylor hit the end transmission button, and it instantly cut off before the General could condemn him further.
"Any other day, I'd say you should follow the orders of your command chain. But now I know why you do what you do. Your passion burns deep, and you always do what you believe is best. You're not always right, but I respect your motivation," Dupont said.
"Thanks, I guess," he replied.
"I am under no illusions that the mission I am asking you to undertake is a suicidal one, but you need to know I have no agenda in doing so, except what we all share; a will to win and survive as a species. I wish you every luck, Taylor, and I have every confidence in you."
Taylor looked over at Jones. He still had his head buried in a screen and had been oblivious to his presence and discussion throughout. He knew his friend was useless to him while the chance of getting Dubois back remained a possibility.
* * *
Two hours later Taylor stood before a small civilian craft as Rains made a few last patches to it. He stood in a simple pair of cargo trousers and leather jacket now. The only weapon he carried was his sidearm, and that was concealed in a shoulder holster he had acquired from Dupont's stores. The others had done likewise, though Rains had the smallest changes to make to blend in as a civilian.
"Stow all our armour and weapons aboard. We will surely need them," he said to Lewis.
"We’re really flying into enemy territory like this, in that thing?" Robinson asked.
"Hey!" Rains shouted, "She's my girl, and I won't hear a word against her!"
"Where did you even find her?"
"She was one of the base officer’s personal transports until she was laid up last year. She's done some distance. Well run in."
It was a small copter, just large enough for eight people and a little cargo. Its dark navy paintwork had faded from years in the sun, and it displayed no markings of any kind.
"She really flies?" Taylor asked.
"Oh, sure. By all accounts she's solid. She just got replaced by a newer model, from what I hear."
"She looks twenty years old," Lewis joked.
"Twenty-two, I believe," replied Eddie, as he turned to face Lewis and smiled.
"You think this is a good idea, Sir?"
"I can't see a problem with her, Robinson. Looks solid to me."
"I meant overall, Sir. I wouldn't mind crossing the Channel in this bird, but going into enemy territory. She has no weapon systems, no counter-measures, no armour, and she can probably be outrun by everything out there."
"But she'll get us there," Eddie added.
"Yeah, we aren't blundering through the border, Corporal. We're slipping past unnoticed. Can you think of a better ship to do that in?"
"We're about good to go," stated Rains.
They climbed aboard, but none of them could quite believe they were really going ahead with it.
"I hope you've got a good plan, Sir."
"I've got a plan for sure, Robinson, but how good it is only time will tell."
Taylor hit the door button, but nothing happened at all.
"Yeah...the uh, hydraulics are out on a few non-essential items!" Eddie called from his cockpit.
"Good start," muttered Taylor, as he grabbed the door and wrenched it shut. He slid down the manual door lock and sat down with the other two. It was such a small craft; he was just half a metre behind the pilot’s chair when he took a seat.
As they lifted off, Eddie looked back and asked, "All right, it's just us now, so what's the plan?"
"We need manpower and support. We can't get it from our side, so we'll have to get it inside Germany."
Rains shook his head. "You ain't got no friends over there no more, have you?"
"That's where you're wrong Rains. After the Moon was finally abandoned, the US donated the remains of the Ramstein base as a new home for them."
"You're kidding, right?"
"No, why would I?"
"Okay, so you reckon Kelly will help?"
"He’d better. He owes us both, big time."
Rains turned back to the controls and had them on their way in no time. It took them just thirty minutes to reach the border. They could see lines of military vehicles, both alien and UEN, but more than anything were civilians.
"Look at them, passing the enemy by as if it's just another day."
Taylor got up to stand beside Rains and look out for himself.
"What else would you have them do? Not like they can fight back."
Most of the civilian movement was heading into Germany.
"But the Krys, they are letting them live?"
"Yes, Erdogan is keeping us fighting each other. He realised we are too strong when unified. He's probably promised the UEN leaders everything under the sun."
"None of which he will deliver."
Taylor nodded in agreement.
"I can't believe they are falling for that shit. Have they forgotten the wars we fought across these countries so recently?"
"Most people don't want to remember. They just want to be left to live in peace. They're only siding with whoever they think will bring an end to their suffering."
"And what do you think, Sir? Should we keep on fighting?" Robinson asked yet another question.
He turned around to see the other two peering over his shoulder.
"Damn right we should. Day we give up is the end of us all. The moment Erdogan can seize power globally, he would have us killed in our sleep."
"You sure?" Lewis asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," he snapped.
"And if we kill this Erdogan, you think it would bring an end to the fighting, Sir?"
Taylor shook his head. "No, Lewis, but I think it would be a start."
"A start?" asked Robinson, "We've been fighting these wars for years, have we not even achieved a start yet?"
Taylor looked at them and could see the desperation in their faces.
"We won those wars and won them well, don't you forget it. This is a new war, and what we did before it counts for shit if we can't win this one."
"We're about half a klick from the border now," Rains interrupted him.
Taylor turned his attention to the view ahead of them. They could see anti-aircraft emplacements on the ground, and a number of UEN ships patrolling the border above them.
"You better hope they don't know who we are now, as running ain't an option," Eddie added.
"We'll be fine."
"Yeah, why’s that?"
"Because we always are, because we've done everything right, and because it's our destiny."
"Destiny? Holy shit I never took you for a religious man."
"I'm not. But we both know, when all is said and done, I have to face Erdogan. It will happen. It has to happen."
"And that helps us here, because?"
"Because this isn't our end, not even close. We have too much left to do."
Rains shook his head at the logic.