"Reiter's latest toy," added Taylor. "I'm told it'll take out all but the heaviest Krys armour from half a klick, so God knows what it'll do to our own vehicles."
"I've been waiting to see these in action all year," stated Grey.
Taylor could see the genuine excitement in his face, and it amused him that in the face of such danger he could be so. "Fire when ready," ordered Taylor. "Fire when ready," relayed Grey over the comms.
They watched intently just far enough above the trench edge to get a view without becoming targets themselves. The closest RAT fired, and a burst of blue light flashed out the rear tube that was hot enough it scorched the ground around the user.
The projectile soared across the potholed and dusty battlefield and struck the front armour of one of the incoming tanks almost centre at the hull. The light seemed to pass right through the armour and blast the turret clean into the air. It hurtled off into a number of the Mechs, wreaking further destruction as the tank ground to a halt and smoke began pouring from it when it caught fire.
"Holy shit!" yelled one of the nearby marines.
It was a relief the equipment they had been issued with actually worked, but a horrific sight to endure when they all knew fellow humans were inside the tank; humans they had so recently fought beside. They all still failed to comprehend how mankind could stand with the enemy, but there seemed little they could do but fight back now.
"Fire at will!" Taylor ordered over the comms.
Pulses of the RAT launchers continued to soar across the battlefield as quickly as they could be reloaded. They seemed to make light work of the armoured vehicles, and yet still they came. Taylor took aim at the first Mech he could spot and fired. The target vanished between vehicles and smoke as he pulled the trigger, leaving him no idea if the shot had met its target. He moved onto the next and could see the rest of the Regiment were doing the same.
A moment later they caught a few dozen Mechs in the open where their covering vehicles had been destroyed and all hell was unleashed on them. Those that were in plain sight were cut down in seconds, but the armoured advance continued. As vehicle after vehicle was disabled, he wondered how the crews could muster the courage to continue on.
"They aren't stopping!" Grey shouted.
They could hear their comrades’ rate of fire of increase rapidly as the defence became more desperate. The artillery fire at their backs continued smashing the enemy advance, but they knew that they'd be under the guns soon enough. Mitch slammed in a new magazine and kept up the fire at the Mechs that were rushing towards them. They seemed as unstoppable as ever. A vehicle ahead swerved, and as it was struck, a dozen Mechs came out from behind and stormed forward to their position. He turned his rifle on the nearest and gunned it down while his comrades tried frantically to do the same.
Four of the creatures reached the edge of the trench, and Mitch pulled the trigger as one came at him gun at the ready, to find the last round he had glanced off the alien’s shoulder. He pulled his shield from the trench side to cover himself just in time as a burst of automatic fire struck. Before he could reach for his Assegai, the beast jumped on top of him. The weight forced his shield to smash down onto him. The impact shocked his head and only his helmet saved it from being crushed.
Unable to respond, Taylor felt a hard wrench. The alien soldier tried to prise the shield from him like it was ripping a shell of a turtle. He held on firm and was lifted and thrown up into the air, but because the creature held on, he couldn't keep hold and was launched out of the trench towards the enemy assault.
Mitch hit the ground hard and rolled several times until he came to an abrupt halt and crashed into the legs of one of the Mechs. It stumbled slightly as it lost balance and rolled over just narrowly missing landing on his legs. To his side he could see the bodies of several fallen enemy soldiers and tracers zipped overhead. He knew he had just a few seconds to get to his feet, and he did exactly that.
As he jumped up, he drew his Assegai but could not help but feel naked without a rifle or shield. He quickly glanced in all directions to get his bearings and stopped when he saw a rifle being aimed at him. His instincts kicked in, and he leapt to the side and rolled as the gunfire flew past, but he’d leapt into the path of another danger, a Mech soldier. He ducked as it swung its rifle toward him with all its crushing weight, but he was done being on the defensive.
As Taylor arose from his crouched position, his Assegai too drove upwards into the stomach of the Mech armour. The creature groaned in pain and again swung at him, but he leapt back out of the way. Then it came right back, and he plunged thrust down into the faceplate of its armour. The strike caused the beast to immediately freeze where it stood and then to topple over with the weight of the Colonel against it.
For a moment Taylor felt glad to have survived once more, but then he remembered the danger they were in and the realisation he stood out in plain view on the open plain. He was almost in a daydream and still stunned, but his hearing was coming back. He could hear his people yelling from the trench.
"Get back! Colonel, get back!" they screamed.
Finally, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and it yanked him around hard. He was met by the face of Jafar which first made his pulse pound, as the sight of an alien up close and personal always did, but Jafar said nothing. His alien friend only studied him until he finally snapped out of it and stood up. He turned back to the battlefield to look at the result of their work and the terrible devastation.
"Colonel, get to cover!" Grey hollered.
Taylor shook his head and looked at the wreck of the armoured vehicle that had reached the farthest point. It was just twenty metres from where he stood. As he began to pace towards it, the pitch and volume of the Captain's voice increased, but he ignored them. Jafar followed out of curiosity. They both had to navigate through a trail of bodies. When he reached the vehicle, Taylor felt a large hand grasp his ankle. He looked down in horror to see a Mech clinging to life and still trying to fight.
The creature tried to pull him off his feet, but a gunshot cracked behind him finished the creature for good. Taylor turned and nodded in gratitude to Jafar who had responded with lightning reactions, and he could see Grey was now out the trench and close behind them.
"This isn't safe," he stated.
"Relax, Captain."
"I'll relax when we're not standing in no man's land in full view of anyone who wants to blow our heads off."
"Where's that British resolve and confidence?"
"I'm confident in the defence of our trenches," he muttered.
Taylor ignored him and carried on to the twisted wreck of the vehicle. It was a medium tracked main battle tank he was plenty familiar with. Seeing the wicked damage on one of what used to be one of their own was a painful reminder of the battle for Brest when it had all begun. Ammunition had poured out through a gaping hole in the side, but the wet rack had stopped it from exploding. Smoke bellowed from the commander’s hatch, and the driver's hatch was nowhere to be seen. It had most likely been blown clear.
The smell was acrid and as even more unpleasant than he had remembered it. A mix of burning metal with scorched electrical systems. All of that with the smell of burning grass where it still kindled. He stepped up to the tank, expecting to see the remains of a driver, but as he leapt atop the vehicle he stopped, surprised when he found the driver's compartment filled with electronics that were now all but destroyed.
"What is it?" asked Grey.
"That's why they came at us till the very end. There's no one driving 'em."
Grey looked confused and jumped up onto the hull to see for himself. Taylor could see he knew exactly what he was looking at, and it was starting to make sense.