"No!" Parker screamed.
She ran after him, but he had already gained a good few metres on her. The rest of the Company ran on with her, spurred on by Taylor's battle cry as he stormed onwards. Erdogan did not flinch or make any attempt to move. Taylor dropped his rifle and let it sling by his side as he drew out his Assegai.
This is it. This is my chance, he told himself.
"Wait!" Parker shouted.
He did not slow a single pace and rushed through into the room with Erdogan. As he did, the door behind him sealed shut, and he heard Parker and several others slam into it. He ground to a halt and looked around. It was a translucent barricade that had brought his colleagues to a standstill. He quickly looked back to Erdogan and could see the wicked and terrifying grin on his face.
He seemed to stand just a little taller than Demiran had. His armour was almost form fitting over a tall and muscular physique, and a dark red, almost black cloak stretched down to his feet. His head was completely exposed, and his armour enshrined with so many gleaming jewels and Krys symbols that he looked more like a ceremonial toy soldier than anything real.
For all of the minimalist and plain armour design of the Mech battle suits, it always amazed him how wildly different their leaders looked. It was as if they were kept at opposite ends of a scale in every sense of the word, just to underline the power balance. Taylor wondered for a moment if Erdogan was just a politician and not a warrior at all. He certainly looked more fantastical than anything he had seen before.
"I told you this day was coming, and yet you seek your death sooner than I had imagined," Erdogan stated calmly.
"I am going to kill you, and I don't see why I should be made to wait."
Taylor looked around the room for any sign of other opponents, but there were none. A large throne of steel lay at the far end of the room, and despite the fact he could see two other entrances, there was no sign of other life in sight. The ceilings were several metres high, and the roof decorated with art. He could make out Mech figures fighting several types of figures that he did not recognise. He could only imagine they were murals of some kind depicting Erdogan's great victories.
The walls were decorated with objects mostly foreign to Taylor, but many were identifiable as weapons. Some of Krys origin, but others looked entirely alien even to their culture. Projectile weapons and hand-to-hand combat weapons of all shapes and sizes were displayed as prized possessions.
"Have you any questions before you die?" Erdogan asked.
Taylor shook his head. "There is nothing else I want from you, besides your life."
Erdogan shrugged.
"Your loss."
With that, an armoured hood arose from behind the alien’s head and locked into place one plate after another until it utterly encased his head, and the very centre lit up in a letter T shape. It revealed a translucent section where Taylor could see his eyes and part of his mouth, much like an old hoplite helmet. He pulled out from beneath his cloak a weapon that he had been carrying at his flank. It was almost two metres long and resembled nothing more than an iron pole with a cannon ball attached. Taylor didn't want to imagine what it weighed, as the creature took a firm grasp with both hands.
"I am going to enjoy killing you, Colonel Taylor, before I kill her and your entire race," he said, pointing to Parker.
Taylor looked over to her. She was shooting at the clear screen and the mechanisms around it, but to no avail.
"I only wish this could have lasted longer. You are a puny people that will be ended like all others."
"You want my life? Come and take it!" Taylor shouted.
Erdogan rushed at him. He was a little slower than the lighting fast Demiran, but he came forward with immense power. He swung the giant mace vertically with all his strength as if to flatten Taylor with a single blow. Taylor didn't even try to parry the mighty blow. He turned and leapt aside quickly. The massive iron ball struck the ground where he had been standing and shattered the steel floor, causing it to buckle in a metre radius.
Taylor was shocked by the immense power of the blow, but he did his utmost to hide the fact.
"You're faster than I expected. Good. It would be such a shame for this to be over so soon."
Erdogan rushed forward again and swung a diagonal blow that Taylor was forced to parry. He took it on the shield, and it knocked him several paces to the side. He felt pain surge though the arm that still hadn't fully recovered. He grimaced in agony, and that brought another smile to Erdogan's face.
Taylor looked at his shield to see it had buckled slightly in the centre, and the top and bottom now curved out like a banana. Amazingly, it was still intact, but he knew he couldn't take many more like that. It was time to go on the offensive, and he knew it. He rushed forward and ducked as Erdogan made a rushed swing of the hefty and cumbersome weapon.
Mitch narrowly slipped under the blow and thrust up towards the alien, but he backed off at the last moment and pulled his mace back, catching Taylor's right shoulder blade and launching him forward. He landed face first at the feet of the alien leader.
He turned over to see the mace coming for his head and rolled out of the way just in time, but the huge ball struck the shield and smashed it off his arm, embedding it in the floor. Taylor rolled out of harm's way and back onto his feet. He was shaken by the impact and now felt naked without his shield. All he had left was his speed.
"You must try harder, Colonel. This does not impress me."
"Oh, quit your monologuing. You're goddamn boring me!" he yelled back.
He then took a run at Erdogan and used his boosters to launch up over the weapon and flip up and over, landing with one arm around the creature's neck. He raised his Assegai to thrust down into the collar, but as he did so, the alien reached up and took a firm hold on the Assegai. He pulled the Colonel off and swung around until he could no longer hold on. He was launched through the air and landed hard.
* * *
Jones pulled out his Assegai from a Mech, and it slumped onto his shoulder before sliding down and hitting the floor like a brick. He was looking around frantically now for any sign of Coco.
“Where the hell is she?” he whispered to himself.
He looked at the map on his arm once more.
We’re in the right place, so where is she?” he yelled.
As his call rang out, a single Mech took the corner; one of the heavily armoured type that their rifles could barely scratch. He could feel the hatred burning deep inside, and the second he clapped eyes on it rushed forward in anger. The Mech lunged at him with its spear-like weapon, but he nimbly ducked under and passed around its back, leaping up onto its shoulders.
The alien had only just begun to struggle when he delved his Assegai down into its collar and drove it up to the hilt. The Mech collapsed forward with him still on its back. Robinson and the others were still standing in shock from where he had first made his assault against the Mech. He finally looked up at them.
“What are you waiting for? Find her!”
They quickly split up, taking several different forks. Jones passed several laboratories of some kind and empty cells, but found no sign of life.
Come on! Please come on, where are you?
“Sir! Captain Jones!” a voice shouted.
He rushed onwards to the sound of the calling until he reached Wood standing outside a cell. He turned to look in and to his relief saw Coco inside. She was restrained on a tabletop, but she had turned to look at him.
“Coco, are you okay?” he cried.
She nodded but didn’t say a word. He raised his rifle and fired two shots at the locked mechanism. He barged through the door with his shield and rushed to her side, but just stopped and stared at her for a moment. She still didn’t speak.