Rogue Legion
Page 10
"Legionnaires, don´t let them get too close. Conserve your ammo, make every shot count."
He hoped the villagers would turn out to be worth fighting for.
51.
Ethan undid the security locks on his helmet and an alarm began bleeping. He shut it down, and pulled the helmet off. He took a deep breath. Cool, crisp air filled his lungs, the first fresh air he had breathed since Camp Piteaa. How long ago was it again? A year and a half? Two years? He shook his head, feeling the after-effect of a blow to the head, right before the fight ended and the last of the enemies fled. Carefully he touched a dent on the side of his helmet, astonished at the raw muscle power it must have taken to cause it. The helmet was an extremely robust design, and this dent was caused by an alien hitting him repeatedly with a big rock. He put the helmet aside and lay back on the gray-brown grassy looking leaves. The wind of last night had subsided, and the slight breeze on his bare head felt nice. He closed his eyes. The sun, or rather, this system´s star, whatever its name, was up, and Ethan felt its warm rays on his face. It felt so nice, like he could just stay like this forever. Maybe he should try to steal some sleep, just a few minutes. There was so much to do though, and he had a platoon to care for. They would have to contact the villagers, report back to the Hellfire, there were wounded who needed evacuation, or at the very least, better care than they were able to give on the battlefield. They had to secure a base against new attacks, scout the area, make repairs on the dropship...
Someone shook his shoulder, and he started awake.
"Adjunct Wang, I need to have a look at you," the medic said, and pressed a device to his forehead.
"I´m fine," Ethan murmured. He was, wasn´t he?
The device beeped, and the medic´s eyes narrowed. Then he looked around and removed his helmet as well.
"Well, the air isn´t doing any harm to you, so I might as well get some fresh air myself," he said. "But you´ve got a concussion, so you need to take it easy for a few days." Ethan tried to protest, but the medic shut him off.
"Don´t worry, Adjunct Patterson is already in touch with the Hellfire, and a patrol is out to make contact with the villagers. And SD Sharon is taking care of your platoon. Sir, can you walk?" Ethan nodded carefully.
"Good. We´ll get you on board the dropship. We´re setting up a field hospital in there. You´ll get a nice comfy bed and some rest, and we´ll be able to monitor you, just in case. I´m guessing you won´t let us keep you as long as we should, but you seriously need at least three days." The medic helped Ethan to his feet, and led him over to the dropship. Ethan´s legs were unsteady, and he felt a wave of nausea.
"Do we have a body count yet?" Ethan asked before he entered.
"I guess Adjunct Patterson does, but I just try to help one legionnaire at the time. Anyway, there won´t be many losses once we get the Cervaille box up and going. My guess is we should be able to revive most of our casualties within a few days."
"Good. That´s good." Ethan stepped inside and found a vacant bed. He managed to get halfway out of his armor, before he had to ask for help. His head was spinning. He laid his head on the soft pillow while a new medic helped him get comfortable. Ethan kept thinking about what the first medic had said. He still had a hard time getting to grips with the fact that with Optio Cervaille´s invention, everything had changed. He wondered what it felt like, dying and then being brought back to life again.
Being a legionnaire, odds were he´d find out soon enough.
52.
He managed to stay in bed until the next morning, but by then he couldn´t stand it anymore. He got dressed and stepped outside, ignoring the medic´s protests. His legs felt a bit shaky, and he had an enduring headache, but the feeling of being outside, breathing fresh air, trumped it all. He grinned.
Then he realized they had visitors. An alien, reminiscent of the enemy they had fought just days earlier, only darker skinned and shorter, with a smaller head, wearing some kind of dress-like garment, stood talking to Adjunct Patterson. Ethan realized, as he walked toward them, that the adjunct had removed his helmet as well, as had most of the other legionnaires he could see.
"Ah, Adjunct Wang, you´re up," Patterson said. Ethan kept his eyes on the alien. Its eyes had opened wide, and its lips were moving.
"Ethan Wang..." the creature said, and Ethan stopped dead in his tracks. What was going on here?
The alien flung itself to the ground, arms flat out in from of it, face buried in the dirt. Ethan stood paralyzed for a moment, wondering how to react to this. Adjunct Patterson shook his head, and bent down to lay a hand on the alien´s shoulder.
"So so, Thera, don´t worry. He won´t harm you. He looked up at Ethan and winked. "Would you, Ethan?"
"Of course not. Adjunct, what´s going on? And… Thera, please stand up." The alien looked up at him, lips quivering. It stood up, carefully, keeping its head down.
Ethan suddenly got a nagging suspicion. It didn´t make any sense though. They were so far out, far from anywhere humans had ever ventured before, and yet...
"Thera," he said. "Why are you afraid." The alien hesitated, before speaking one word.
"Rhoub," it said.
53.
"So, the Lumin has been protecting you for decades, but then they left without any explanation," Ethan said. Thera, who after some introductions had appeared to be a female, replied with that familiar motion, a toss of the head that Ethan recognized from communicating with the Lumin. Back on Titan, when the Ghost Legion finally beat the Lumin invaders, they had taken a prisoner, which had surprised everyone by demanding to meet Ethan. Tsinga, the female Lumin, had surrendered to him personally, claiming he was Rhoub, some kind of incarnation of a great warrior. She had further pledged herself to his service, without reservation, after explaining, in a fashion, why the Lumin had attacked Earth in the first place, how their thinking wasn´t linear like humans, and many other things. In the end, Ethan had sent her off with a warning to her race, to stay away from Earth and the Solar system, or the human race would destroy them.
"Lumin wise and benevolent, tell, protect Oshiv from Drek attack."
"Drek are the ones who attacked us," Adjunct Patterson explained.
"Why would the Lumin protect you?" Ethan asked. Thera looked at him for a moment, apparently considering his question.
"Lumin protect the weak from the strong, protect against destroyers, tell. Their way, tell."
Ethan thought he understood.
"They are protectors against aggressors, that´s their way, is that what you´re saying?" he said.
"Yes, their way," Thera said, putting emphasis on the last word, and tossing her head again.
"But now they are gone, yes?"
"Yes, Lumin all gone, tell. Are Human protectors, like Lumin, ask?"
Ethan smiled.
"Yes, we are. Humans are protectors as well."
Thera´s face lit up in a smile similar to that of a human. There was no mistaking that.
"Thera of Oshiv give thanks, Ethan Wang, Rhoub of Humans." The she bowed deeply and made a fluttering motion with her hands.
That evening Ethan spent most of the time with Adjunct Patterson and the squad leaders, planning for the days to come. He tired quickly though. He knew he should have stayed inside the dropship, but there was too much going on. So he pushed himself, knowing that he shouldn´t.
When the Oshiv invited him and the others to stay in the village, he accepted, knowing they had to build a good relationship with these aliens. He still had trouble accepting that these aliens considered the Lumin to be good guys. If the Lumin were protectors - wise and benevolent, Thera had called them - why had they attacked Earth? What had humanity done to deserve such a fate? Perhaps he would understand more by spending time with these Oshiv. He sure hoped he would, because if the Lumin had seen something in humanity that they considered threatening to them or those under their protection, humans needed to understand what, if they were to change their ways.
Si
nce the Oshiv considered him to be this Rhoub figure - obviously something they had picked up from the Lumins - they let him have the largest and most splendid hut. That was fine with Ethan. After an evening filled with chores and meetings, he finally had to withdraw to get some sleep. He walked to the part of the village where the legionnaires´ huts were located and immediately saw the one reserved for him. He stepped inside. As soon as the door closed behind him, he realized he had company.
Helena lay on the bed, smiling at him from under the sheets.
"It´s been a while," she said.
"Sure has," he replied. "I don´t think we ever quite finished though."
A mischievous grin spread across her face, inviting him over.
"Come here, great Rhoub.”
~
End of Rogue Legion, Legionnaire Series, Book 3.
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