Free Battle Earth by Nick S. Thomas Page B

gets here.”
    “Christ, so we could be war before the week is out?”
    “Sorry, Charlie, but you’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got a number of wounded that I need to call on before the General starts his debrief.”
    “Of course, good to see you made it out.”
    Taylor nodded and continued on to the General’s jeep. He climbed aboard, much to the surprise of Sergeant Gibbons.
    “Take me back to the hospital, Sergeant.”
    The man tried to turn and argue with the Major, but when he made eye contact with Taylor it became clear that it would be folly. If nothing else, the officer looked ready to strike him if he didn’t do as ordered.
    Visiting the wounded was a painful experience for Taylor, not only having to see men he considered friends in pain, but to know that many more would follow them when they went back into action. He could see that many officers and politicians still believed that they could avoid war, but he knew already that it was a conflict they could not avoid.
    The rest of the day was spent in a briefing room with General White and several other staff. They went over the same events time and time again. The reality was that he did not have much more to say than he’d said hours before to the worldwide delegates. There was nothing he could say to them to convey the spine chilling evil that the enemy invoked. At every opportunity the interrogators tried to find a way to support their theory that they were mere humans with advanced and experimental technology.
    Finally Taylor was released to go back to his quarters to rest for the night. The base was still on high alert and that meant guard duties for all units on base, with double security at the entry points. He staggered into the officers’ block. The tall apartment building housed all the officers of his battalion. Their individual homes were a decadent luxury compared to the accommodation of the rank and file. He tapped in his security code to the entry pad and went into his hallway. He stopped abruptly to at the sight of the lights being on. Even if he had left them on, they automatically shut off an hour after leaving the room empty.
    The Major’s hand reached quickly to his handgun and drew it into a two-handed grip. Adrenaline flowed through his body and his heart pounded. After the frightful slaughter he’d witnessed on the Moon colony, the thought of his own home being invaded was deadly. He took the bend around the hallway leading to his living room, quickly snapping around the corner with his pistol held ready to fire.
    Fearing the worst, he was met by Parker sitting on his sofa with a cold beer in her hand. He sighed as he lowered his pistol, realising that his paranoia would soon lead to a heart attack. The beautiful Sergeant was still wearing her BDU trousers tucked into her bulky combat boots. She wore a tight fitting tank top, hugging her toned body. She looked like she’d come right from a day’s work, but had let her lightly curled hair down over her shoulders. She sipped back on her beer casually and finally spoke as he stood speechless.
    “Not here to kill you, Major.”
    He lowered his pistol and slipped it into the holster fitted to his leg. He knew that it was as romantic a gesture as he’d ever see from Eleanor. There were no candles, no mood lighting and no fancy music. He didn’t mind though, he simply didn’t have the energy to put up with such complexities.
    “You know this is a bad idea, Sergeant?”
    “Yes, Sir,” she replied.
    “And yet you’re still here?”
    “The world’s going to shit, Sir. We’ll probably be in combat within days, may as well make the most of the free time we have.”
    Taylor relaxed and felt his shoulders lower slightly as his body accepted there was no longer any danger, at least in the form of an attacker. He went over to the fridge and opened the door, looked at what little it contained. He reached for a beer, but as he did so he felt Parker’s hands on his back, wrapping around