“Indeed. I will return in four weeks. With any luck, at the head of the army we need.”
“Did we not muster every ship we could for this fleet?” asked Taylor.
“There are still plenty of civilian transports that could carry tens or hundreds of thousands of troops into combat. I want to take this war to their soil and spill their blood over it.”
“And if we are attacked in your absence?”
“You are to hold as long as is realistic, Colonel. Should the fleet be endangered, Admiral Huber has been ordered to return home.
The General turned and rushed away to his shuttle. Taylor was still curious as to how surprised Jafar and Tsengal were to behold one of their own planets.
“Experimental planet?” asked Taylor. “I bet Reiter could have a few things to say and learn about this place. I want him and his team down here asap.”
Chandra nodded in agreement.
“Make it happen.”
They’d been on the enemy planet for less than half a day, and the General was already departing for Earth. Taylor was well aware of the bureaucracy and still hated it as much as ever. He turned to see that Chandra had laid down flat on her back. She was both exhausted and physically weak.
“You’re gonna have to handle things for a day or two,” she said as he stood over her.
“No problem.”
It took several days before they fully understood how the docking hangar worked and allowed the Deveron and many other ships to land on Red 1. The ships were a welcome home for the troops stationed there. Reiter was clearly fascinated by so much of what he saw, but it was clear to Taylor that anything learned would not assist them anytime soon. On the third day of their occupation, Chandra returned to full duty.
The bridge of the Deveron had become their office and command post. The enemy had only a few thousand troops on Red 1 that had fallen within a day. Taylor could not help but feel what power the enemy might hold if they brought their population to bare against the humans. No matter how he asked Jafar and Tsengal about the aliens’ population, they seemed to have little idea on numbers.
For the troops of Inter-Allied, their time on Red 1 was nothing more than another posting. They had seen enough of the enemy for a lifetime, and anything that could be learned there was not for them. On the morning of the fourth day, Taylor strolled out onto the surface in gear to marvel at the alien planet.
It was an ugly place with no redeeming features. He wondered how life could ever have been supported there, or why anyone would choose to live there. Yet he thought back to Commander Kelly and his love of his homeland, despite similarly inhospitable characteristics. Huber’s fleet still waited in orbit, and it was a reassuring sight. Taylor thought he was alone and went into a daze as he stared out across the barren surface.
Time seemed a glide by as he fell into a dream. A hand grasped his shoulder, and he turned quickly to see Parker standing with him.
“What do you see in it?” she asked.
“I’m not sure I see anything. Look at it, what’s to like?”
He wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but their suits made it impossible. He settled for grasping her hand and looking out to the fleet. Their engines suddenly fired up, and they began to move off from the planet.
“What the hell?”
Taylor turned and rushed back inside. He tried to contact the Deveron, but their channel was busy. He rushed on board to find Chandra awaiting him.
“Huber’s leaving?”
“We have picked up readings of enemy ships in the area and even a few sightings by recon parties. The Admiral is returning to the gateway to ensure its safety.”
“And us? What about our safety?”
They had just over two thousand troops on the now desolate enemy colony.
“We can look after ourselves. Follow me.”
Taylor was surprised she shrugged off the situation so lightly but did as she asked. The Colonel led him deeper into the colony to a floor he’d never been to. They came to huge blast doors.
“What are we doing?”
She tapped a few buttons, and a section of wall became transparent. He looked in with horror to see over a hundred Mechs in various states of injury.
“The survivors from our assault.”
“Survivors?” asked Taylor.
Chandra nodded.
“They always seem to take their wounded away, but here they had nowhere to run. We believe that many committed suicide when they had nowhere left to go, mostly by charging our guns. These are what’s left.”
Most of the creatures were in various degrees of armour and lay on the metal floor. Blood stained much of the visible surface in the room. It reminded him of the human bodies stacked high in the prison where they had rescued Jones so long ago. The feeling made him sick to his stomach.
“What are we to do with them? Reiter thinks we could learn a lot,” she asked.
“Learn a lot?” Taylor asked in disgust.
“We don’t keep prisoners in this war,” she replied.
“Is that what we have become? Is it genocide we want, just as they did?”
Taylor turned away at the horrific sight.
“We must make a decision. We have little idea what to do with them. We can’t send them packing.”
Taylor remained silent for a moment, and then whispered.
“Put them out of their misery.”
“What was that?”
“You heard me. End their miserable lives.”
She was surprised to hear him say the words after taking on two of their kind as friends. She lifted her comms unit and spoke into it.
“Captain Jackson, you have a green light.”
Taylor turned just in time to see a large door open within the chamber and thirty of the Captain’s Company enter, guns blazing. They executed the creatures where they lay. Taylor watched for several minutes until the room was silent.
“Is this what it has come to? Must it end with the complete destruction of one of our races?”
She nodded yes. “Afraid so.”
Taylor turned and strode away. He had seen enough. He wasn’t sure the Colonel was wrong, but it made him sick to see it done, either way. Another two days passed without event until on the third, a message came over the intercom for Taylor to make his way to the bridge. It was early in the morning, and the Major still thought about the mass execution he had witnessed. He found the Colonel on the bridge, waiting to address him personally.
“Admiral Huber has asked that Inter-Allied return to the fleet in defence of the Washington.”
“What of this planet?”
“General White left me in charge here, and that is exactly where I will remain. You will return to the Washington with the Battalion while I remain in command of all ground forces here.”
“You’ll have what, less than three thousand troops?”
“This planet means something to our enemy, perhaps much more than we realise. I want to know what it is, and I will not give it back to them without a fight.”
“Then let us stay. Let us fight this together.”
“I am sorry, Major, but we all have our orders. The protection of the Washington is paramount, and I would trust no other to carry out such a task. You will return to the fleet immediately.”
“Will you at least take some of our own in support?”
She conceded to his advice.
“Suarez and his platoon will remain as a personal detail to myself. I would keep Tsengal, if I could. He may yet provide insight into what we have found here.”
“He is under your command, Colonel, not mine.”
“Then it is agreed. Get moving Major.”
She strode off the bridge to leave the ship and allow them to prepare for departure.
Suarez? You hate the bastard, and yet you’re keeping him at your side? He thought.
Taylor didn’t like it one bit, but he had no choice but to go along with the commands. Ever since the execution of the prisoners, his relationship with the Colonel had been modified. He knew she had done the only thing she could. He also knew she had in fact saved them from invasive research, which they would not wish on any soldier. He wanted to tell her he had her back, but the time and words did not come.