Battle Earth: 12 by Nick S. Thomas

the ground a little hard, and Taylor ushered the first platoon aboard and then the next. Rains then came in with a perfect landing. He heard the sound of pulse fire nearby and saw two Mechs advancing onto the rooftop from the stairway. The only Guardian still with them returned fire with him, and they were cut down, but several more followed.
    “Go!” Taylor ordered those who had stopped embarking.
    He kept up the covering fire until all were aboard, and then leapt through the door himself and continued firing as they lifted off the roof. His magazine finally ran dry. He dropped the magazine and pulled out another, but Silva reached forward and closed the door before he could put it into the receiver.
    “We’re done,” said Silva.
    Taylor still rammed the magazine home. He felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see Morris.
    “We came close,” he stated.
    “How’d you figure that?”
    “Well it wasn’t a trap. We got one over on Erdogan. Okay, we got there a little late. But he didn’t see it coming and was unable to hide his presence from us. That’s got to have rocked him.”
    “Why?”
    “Because he knows we can find him, and because he knows we want to,” replied Silva.
    “Is this what it has come to?”
    The two of them looked confused.
    “Hit and run attacks because we don’t have the strength to take on his armies? We’re fighting a guerrilla war.”
    “Yes we are,” replied Morris.
    “And how often in history has that worked out?”
    “More than a couple of times.”
    “Good enough for me,” added Silva.
    Taylor shook his head in amazement before making his way to the cockpit.
    “Cutting it a little fine there, weren’t you, Colonel?” Rains asked as he approached.
    “Made it out, didn’t we?”
    Rains pointed at a screen showing the incoming vessels.
    “Only just. They got to us, and we’d have been done for.”
    “Yeah, but they didn’t.”
    “You know, Colonel. If you’ve got a death wish, I’d rather you fly with someone else.”
    Taylor’s smile disappeared when he looked at the Lieutenant’s face and saw that for once he wasn’t joking.
    “This is your job, Lieutenant. If you don’t like it, well that’s just tough shit.”
    Rains guided them up and out into the atmosphere and quickly docked with the Diderot, as they had done so many times before. He didn’t say a word until they had come to a standstill, and he knew they were safe. He slowly took off his helmet and turned to Taylor.
    “About time somebody said it to you straight, Colonel.”
    He looked put out by his comments but finally responded. “Well, go on, straighten me out.”
    “You’ve been taking liberties with the lives of everyone you know. These are people that love you and would follow you to hell and back. But it’s gone further than that now. You’re pushing them too hard and taking risks that are beyond fair. We need to kill Erdogan, we all get that, but being reckless with all of our lives isn’t the way to do it.”
    Taylor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His initial reaction was to be defensive, but somehow coming from Rains it made a difference. Rains was a joker and a clown, so for him to question his actions in such a serious manner really drove it home. He opened his mouth to speak but could not find any words. It was starting to sink in, and he felt sick. It reminded him of the moment he saw Eli drop to her knees. He never wanted to feel that way again, and it was a stark reminder of why they were doing all this.
    He sat back down in his seat and contemplated everything for the rest of the journey, trying to make sense of it all. He went utterly blank and was oblivious to all around him when Silva gently shook him on the shoulder.
    “We’re home, or close as,” he said.
    Taylor looked up. The door was open, and they were back on Ony. He realised he must have been out of it for some time, and it was a sobering experience. He looked up to Rains who had gotten out of his