"What we always do, stand and fight," Taylor quickly retorted.
"If you'd not destroyed our defences, maybe we wouldn't have to be fighting on our own soil," snapped one of the other Generals.
Taylor turned and looked in disgust at the man who he didn't recognise. The General was a good few pounds overweight and looked like a man who'd never seen combat in his life. His face was red and sweaty, which only exaggerated the shine on his baldhead. He was all Taylor despised in armchair generals.
"Yeah, and maybe if I'd not gone up there, Washington would be a wasteland right about now, along with a dozen or more cities around the World. I did what had to be done. I'm not saying it was the perfect solution, but it was the best of a bad bunch."
"You have single-handedly opened up the doors for this invasion which could be the end of us all!"
"Well you pompous, arrogant, naive asshole!" Taylor yelled.
"Enough!" White boomed.
He looked to the General. His face was fuming.
"General Gomez, the last thing we need right now is to be arguing over what might have been. And you, Colonel, you may be a valuable asset, but that does not make you above the chain of command or beyond common courtesy. What is quite clear is that we need to go forward, and that will not happen while we stand here having a pissing contest."
They all now looked to White for answers.
"As you are all well aware, the enemy comms jamming caused us some serious issues. We still have direct feeds operational to DC and most of the East Coast bases. National Guard in New York is taking an absolute beating, and the marines in Norfolk are having it just as bad. We do not expect either location to hold beyond the day."
It was a shock to Taylor. He'd spent so long fighting on foreign soil that the prospect of American cities being fought over was utterly alien to him. He knew such battles had been fought before, but he had never been in such proximity that it felt so real.
The General opened his mouth to speak, but before he got another word out, a warning light flashed, and a siren sounded throughout the room. They all looked around for answers, but the live update information on the map before them displayed the danger. More than a dozen enemy vessels were approaching, and the base defences that had come so close to firing upon Taylor and his unit were already lit up. Missile trails and tracers lit up the map as the fight played out like a video game.
"Sir, troops and armoured vehicles are descending from incoming targets," stated one of the officers at a console beside the table.
"In what number?" White asked.
"Hard to tell, Sir, but we have detected well over three hundred Mechs to the east perimeter and more closing in from the south."
"I want everyone on base able to walk armed and at their stations immediately!"
He looked back to Taylor.
"How many men have you got with you?"
"A few hundred."
"Will they fight?"
"Always."
"Then we need you. Head to the southern perimeter and do what you do best."
"Yes, Sir," Taylor replied with a smile.
The situation sucked and Mitch was well aware of it. But heading out to fight Mech warriors was a relief after being confined to petty arguments in the stuffy Command and Control Centre. He pulled on his helmet and strode out of the building to find the Lieutenant who had driven him there still waiting beside his vehicle.
"You got a weapon?"
"I can draw one, Sir."
"Then do it now. I'm taking your ride."
Taylor threw his rifle in through the open-sided light vehicle and climbed in before the Lieutenant could argue. Mitch stamped on the gas, and the jeep raced forward, but he couldn't hear the almost silent engine over the screams of marines nearby and explosions igniting around the complex. He remembered the way back to where he had landed, and only hoped to find his comrades still in the vicinity. Pulses soared through the sky and smashed into buildings around him. He could see one coming right for him almost in slow motion. He quickly snapped the steering to avoid it.
The lightweight unarmoured vehicle went up and on its side wheels and to the apex of tipping. Taylor leaned out and used his bodyweight to keep it from rolling over. The vehicle crashed back down onto the ground, and he held onto the steering for dear life as the rear end fishtailed a little before coming back into line. The little jeep wasn't built for this. It was a light, fast utility, and the last thing he wanted to be in when the firing started.
Another pulse as large as his vehicle smashed into the ground in front of him, creating a half-metre deep crater. His jeep dropped down into it and then ramped up and out the other side, launching the wheels off the ground. As he landed, he could see airborne Mechs descending around him. He picked up his rifle with one hand, rested the barrel over the front cowl, and fired on full auto at one that landed next to him. Three shots penetrated its armour before he rammed the creature.
The thick rail design construction caused the jeep to initially knock the dead Mech to the ground and then ramp over it, lifting two side wheels off the ground once again. He took a bend up ahead and slid around the corner where he found a line of troops dug in at a five-metre high wall with towers every twenty metres. Turreted heavy weapons on the towers were firing as quickly as their autoloaders would allow them. He brought the jeep to a halt and immediately heard his name being called. "Taylor!"
He turned. Parker was crouching in the doorway of a building to his right. He jumped out of the jeep and had gotten only three metres from it when a pulse struck it dead on. The explosion launched him into the air, tossing him into the building where Parker was positioned. He landed hard but quickly huddled up beside her for protection. He looked back at his vehicle, and nothing more than a few twisted pieces of roll bar and a single wheel were still recognisable.
"You okay?" screamed Eli, grabbing him and looking over his body for injuries.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he said, trying to regain his senses.
"Guess we came to the wrong place!" she yelled.
"I figure we're exactly where we need to be," he replied dryly.
She couldn't help but smile at his optimism.
"Where is everyone?"
"Scattered. King is up on that wall helping with the defences. Jones is keeping an eye on the Nassau crew and marines we brought back. Last I saw, Silva was with him. Most of my platoon is here with me."
"Which way is Jones?"
She pointed, and he rushed on without another word. He took a corner and found Jones standing guard over the German marines and sailors as if they were POWs. They had their backs to the wall, blocking their line of sight from the southern wall and providing some protection.
"Guess we're bolstering the defences?" he asked Jones.
"You got it."
He looked over at the German weapons stacked at a far wall. Taylor immediately strode up to Sergeant Lang.
"You've seen what we're up against," he looked around and spoke up to address them all, "I'll be frank. We took some losses up there against UEN forces. Losses we could not afford. But you lot stood with us when we needed it most. The Inter-Allied Regiment is not an EA Regiment, not a UEN Regiment, nor an American Regiment. We stand for the defence of Earth, no matter which nation you come from. I am gonna make you all a onetime offer. Right now you are prisoners of war. You may continue as such and hope we win this war while you sit it out in a cell. Or you can join us. Take up your weapons and join the Regiment. What do you say?"
"You would have us?" Lang asked in surprise.
"You all showed you could handle yourselves up there. I need fighters. You want to live. I think it's a more than fair deal. The sailors among you will be reassigned to whatever craft of ships when we get them. But I expect every one of the personnel under my command to take up a rifle and use it. So what'll it be?"