Free Battle Earth X by Nick S. Thomas

simply stared at him.
    “This asshole came looking for trouble, Admiral. He is a danger to this fleet!” Cordero screamed.
    “Shut up, Captain!”
    Huber turned to him.
    “You are assigned to this ship, but I am still your superior officer, just as Colonel Taylor is!”
    He turned back to Taylor.
    “Really?” he asked, “All the shit we have to deal with, and you brawl with idiots like him? You have to get yourself together, Colonel. I need you. The people need you. But they need Colonel Taylor, saviour of humanity. The same Taylor who defeated Demiran, not the mess I am seeing here now. Earlier today, I thought you had come through for us and you had, and now I have to deal with this? What do you have to say for yourself?”
    Taylor said nothing.
    “Right now I need you. I need all of you,” Huber continued, “So you keep whatever this is bottled up, never to come out. Not until we are back home on Earth, and all of this is over. I don’t care what it was about or why it started, that’s the deal. You all got that?”
    “Yes, Sir,” they all said in tune, except Taylor who remained silent.
    “Goddamn it, Taylor, are you with us or not?”
    Taylor shook his head.
    “In all these years, why do people keep asking me that?”
    “Probably because you keep getting into this shit. I don’t need a troublemaker, Taylor. I need the legend that is Colonel Mitch Taylor. Can you be that man? Because that is the man, that is the marine these people need. So are you gonna be that man?”
    Taylor looked across to Parker and could see she was nodding for him to agree. Not just to get them out of the mess they were in, but because she genuinely believed in the Admiral’s words. He looked back to Huber.
    “You have my word I will do everything I can to get us back home and to win.”
    Huber sighed. “Good enough. Get this lot out of here!”
    The cell doors opened, and Huber was waiting for Taylor.
    “You’re coming with me.”
    Taylor knew he had no choice in the matter, but he accepted his sidearm and carried on beside the Admiral.
    When they were clear of the brig, Huber finally opened up the real reason he was released so soon.
    “Colonel, we’ve got problems. Problems we could both see coming, and I need your help.
    “What is it now?”
    “Dissent among the fleet. Huang is winning support amongst a number of the ships. People are starting to question who should be in command, and what we should be doing. Some want to return to Earth and think we should never have left. Others want to see a President elected to rule us. It’s a goddamn disaster.”
    “I told you, Sir, I am not a politician.”
    “Yes you are, Colonel. You have been for a long time, whether you like it or not. Look, Taylor, there are many things in life we have to deal with that we don’t like and don’t want to do. You just want to lead marines and fight the good fight; I get it. But the people need more from you than that because you are capable of more.”
    “Not sure I agree, Admiral, but I can’t hide the fact I am glad to be out. What is it you actually want me to do?”
    “Huang, he is the key to this. He has some sway over the fleet, particularly those from the far eastern nations, but his support is growing. Huang is a good officer and a good Admiral, but he has no idea what to do in this situation of ours. He is going to get a lot of folk killed unless he can be made to see straight.”
    Taylor was sick to death of being forced into verbal onslaughts to convince people he had no care for, but he knew he had no choice.
    “How on Earth am I supposed to convince a Chinese Admiral to accept your authority?” he asked.
    “I don’t know, but that’s your task now, and I have every faith in you.”
    Taylor was led towards the bridge by Huber but stopped short where he found his Reitech suit awaiting him.
    "Expecting trouble?"
    "I want you to convey the image of Taylor the marine. I need you to both intimidate and bring a sense of