"Here it is."
He held his breath as they cruised on over the border amongst a line of other ships of all sizes.
"They don't even seem to care," said Eddie.
"Why would they? What have they got to worry about?" Robinson asked.
"Yeah, Mechs are doing the fighting for them. As far as they're concerned, they can just sit back with the popcorn and enjoy the show," replied Taylor.
"If a little light genocide is your kind of thing, yeah," joked Rains.
Taylor smiled just a little until he realised how sad but true Rains was. A UEN fighter suddenly soared into view and matched their speed to inspect them visually. Taylor quickly ducked back from the cockpit.
"This ain't good, Eddie," he said, as he sat back down and hoped.
"Take it easy. It's just a fly by."
Taylor could feel the sweat dripping down his face. A shame after he'd washed off the dirt and grime before changing into civilian attire, but he knew he wouldn't stay clean for long.
"What are they doing?" he asked.
"Just checking us out. Seeing if I look legit."
"Legit what?"
He looked over to the pilot in the fighter who was just fifteen metres beside them and smiled.
"Checking out if I'm a civi or not."
Rains gave him the thumbs up and waved to play the fool.
"I don't think you were ever at risk of looking like you have ever worn a uniform."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
He went silent as they continued on their path and hoped.
"You know how hot it is in here? Goddamn sauna," Taylor complained.
"Yeah, can't say the compressors work too well. We got air, but that's about it."
"You really did find a piece of junk this time."
An uncomfortable silence crept in once more, and Taylor could see even Rains was starting to worry a little.
This is going on too long, Taylor thought.
"If he tries to contact us, you ignore him, you hear? Pretend our comms unit is down."
"Well, it is," replied Eddie.
Taylor grimaced. "That figures."
"What's wrong with talking to them?" Robinson asked.
"Two Brits and two Americans trying to cross over the border into Germany, the key member of the UEN, how d'you think that would go down?" responded Taylor.
"It's okay. He's moving on!" Eddie yelled jubilantly.
Taylor signed in relief.
"All right, then you know where to go. Keep a steady pace, and don't draw any more attention than we need to."
"How many men does Kelly have, Sir?"
"Not entirely sure, Robinson."
"And their loyalties?"
Taylor shook his head. "Officially, Ramstein was still US soil, despite it being allocated to the Moon colonists, but I can guarantee it will have been annexed by Germany early on in this war."
"So, who knows what state we'll find them in?"
"Kelly is our only hope now, so I'm willing to take that chance."
The sun was going down, a fact Taylor was glad of as they approached Ramstein.
"That's it," Rains said, pointing to a set of landing lights and marked landing zones. The lights of a main street were also lit up, as well as several other residential roads nearby. "What do you want me to do?"
"Put down as if it were any other day. We aren't trying to hide anything."
"Aside from our weapons, our intentions, or our mission?" he asked.
"Just do it."
"They're not even in blackout, Sir," Robinson said.
"Why would they be? They've got nothing to fear."
The area was quiet, and they could see no sign of a military presence. Rains brought the copter down to a perfect and smooth landing.
"What now?"
"We roll into town. We're just civilian refugees from France who aren't looking for any trouble.
"We don't exactly sound very French," Lewis replied.
"No, we are reporters working out of Paris. At least Eddie looks the part."
"Yeah thanks," he replied.
Taylor once more heaved the door with his own body. He'd gotten so used to living in the Reitech suit that it felt bizarre to have to use so much of his own bodily strength for common actions.
"Going into hostile lands without our gear, without intel, and without backup, I don't like this."
Taylor nodded. "I know, just follow my lead, Robinson."
There was no one there to greet them at the landing port. Fifty metres away, they could see a guard station and a few local officers hanging out inside, but they paid them little attention.
"You see," said Taylor, "We're just a few guys rolling into town."
"Whatever you say, boss."
Taylor led them on towards the main street. Everything around them was new, not a building more than three years old. The structures were simple and mostly concrete. Bright colourful lights scattered about every building made a poor attempt at livening the place up. There was no grass, no trees. It was a concrete hell.
"Hell of a place to live," whispered Lewis.
"Walk in the park after living on the Moon," Rains joined in.
"It's true. Those colonists who established the Lunar colony, and their children after them, are people with simple tastes. They wanted to pioneer a new simpler way of life after all the complexities of Earth. Or that's how Kelly once explained it to me," added Taylor.
"And here they are, slap bang on Earth in the middle of it all," Rains said.
In a hundred metres to the main street, they only saw two people who were on the far side of the road. Taylor put it down to the weather, as it was certainly chilled.
"Got a plan here?"
"Kelly invited me here many times between the wars, Eddie. Every time I was too busy or working, or that's what I told him. Now here I am wishing I had come visiting. Then we'd know where the hell he was. As it is, we'll find the most popular bar in town. I'd bet good money we'll find him there."
"Can't be many bars round here. Population’s probably no more than a thousand or two."
The road branched out into a thoroughfare, and groups of teenagers were scattered about drinking and talking amongst themselves. Taylor and the others stopped and could not help but staring. It was as if life was going on like nothing had ever happened. Taylor surveyed the rest of the scene. There were three bars about the centre of the town.
"All right, so which is it?" Rains asked.
"We'll hit the nearest one and work from there."
They strode into an establishment called The Moon Dweller.
"Subtle," muttered Rains.
"More than you are," Taylor grinned.
They stepped in to find it half full, and utterly alien to them. The concrete theme of the street continued into the establishment itself. Even the bar was cast from concrete and part of the structure itself. Stools and tables were made of minimalist metal design, and a lack of decor hardly made for a welcome appearance. The light was fairly low and casting long shadows.
Most patrons turned to face the newcomers with suspicion, all but a pair of soldiers sitting at the bar. It did not go unnoticed by Taylor. It was clear to him the soldiers were not locals, for they could not recognise residents over strangers. A tune played in the background that sounded like artificial electronically created garbage to Taylor, and it made his brain hurt.
"What can I get you?"
Taylor looked to the bar, and a middle-aged man behind it greeted them with a smile, though he did not recognise him.
"I'll take four of whatever you recommend."
"Hey, we ain't got time for this," whispered Rains.
"We don't have a choice. You see those two soldiers over there. Look a little closer. They're UEN."
Rains shot a quick glance over and was shocked he hadn't noticed before.