Read Online Battle Earth by Nick S. Thomas - Free Book Online Page B

agreement with him. “You get the Prime Minister to safety and make sure you give them hell, we’ll do what we can here.”
    The Major turned and led Olsen out of the bunker.
    “Form up, we’re moving out!”
    The marine unit rushed to the elevators that would take them right up to the docking area of the Deveron. Gunshots echoed around the building. They could not tell whether it was their own marines or the other soldiers stationed there, but they could no longer concern themselves with it. They crammed into the elevators. Taylor kept the Prime Minister close at all times.
    It was a thirty-second journey to the upper floor, but it felt much longer. As they approached the top floor they could hear the sound of gunfire getting louder. It quickly became apparent that their fellow soldiers were already engaged in combat outside the docking bay.
    The doors slid open and Alpha platoon burst out into a warzone. Eight marines lay dead or dying on the floor, the rest were battling ferociously against five of the armoured attackers. The beasts made no attempt to use any cover. The room had tall ceilings and was a broad open docking area. A few crates on the bay floor were all that provided cover against the onslaught of the beasts.
    Taylor left the elevator firing repeatedly. Within seconds of them arriving, his half of Alpha platoon brought down a creature. Seconds later they were joined by Charlie who came up from the stairs. Almost a hundred marines fired repeatedly. Five more of them were hit as the metal beasts toppled to the ground.
    Looking around at the docking bay area, Taylor was astonished at the hardship they’d faced. Even when outnumbering the invaders substantially they had taken severe fatalities, including many others wounded. He could smell burning and was drawn to the smouldering on his shoulder. One of the enemy shots had skimmed his shoulder and upper arm protection. It had burnt it down to the layer of his compression suit.
    “All aboard! Immediate evac!” he shouted.
    Taylor took Prime Minister Olsen’s arm personally and pulled him across the docking bay. The marines hauled their fallen and wounded comrades onto their shoulders dragging them through the docking doors of the Deveron. They were met by Captain Reyes who was armoured up and limping from a shot that had skimmed his leg.
    “Get us the hell out of here, Captain, and make sure you man the guns, we’ll need everything we’ve got to make it off this rock!”
    “All aboard, Major?”
    “We can’t wait any longer Captain!”
    Reyes hit his intercom as the marines rushed in through the narrow docking corridor.
    “Ensign, prepare for lift-off in twenty seconds!”
    “Come on, marines! Move your ass!” shouted Taylor.
    The last men leapt aboard as the engines fired up and the Captain shut the docking door and released the corridors. Taylor followed the hobbling Captain to the elevators that led them directly to the bridge. He looked out at the colony, a surprisingly peaceful sight considering the slaughter going on within the structures.
    “If they wanted us all dead why didn’t they just carpet-bomb the colony?” asked Reyes.
    “No idea, Captain. Right now, I don’t care. Put everything to the engines that you’ve got, we need to move!”
    “Already done, Major.”
    They quickly soared to a height and were well on their way to Earth. It was fortunate that the Deveron was one of the fastest space-going vessels in usage, as no civilian craft could come close to matching its performance.
    “Sir, we’ve got four ships closing on us fast!” called the Ensign.
    “Have we got gunners in position?”
    “Yes, Sir.”
    “Tell them to fire at will!”
    “Captain, whatever you have, mines, bombs, anything, you need to use it,” said Taylor.
    “Sir, I’m having problems tracking them, I can barely make them out on screen!”
    The Major and the Captain looked at the live feed of the ships closing in on them, barely more than a glimmer in