"Level Two, confirmed," was the response, echoed over and over by the Centurions.
"Good," thought Aurelius.
"Thirty seconds to surface," chimed the computer.
"All Cohorts, prepare for landing," called Aurelius.
Below him, he could see ground fire erupting as the indigenous life-forms began blasting up at the invaders. His instruments told him it was old style gunpowder projectile weaponry. Aurelius knew that whether projectile or energy, flak was flak. It could all kill you if you took a direct hit. Even a glancing blow could knock enough of the armor's systems offline to prevent the jump thrusters from firing. Aurelius had seen it happen before. They called it a burn-in and no one ever survived. Just as the thought was forming in his head, one of the legionnaires a few miles south of him took a direct hit. It vanished in a flash re-appearing as crimson rain, while the pieces burned up as they fell.
"All Cohorts," called Aurelius. "Take evasive action!"
The drogue chutes deployed almost in unison, slowing them down as they were designed. Unfortunately, the drogue chutes also made them sitting ducks for the gunners on the ground.
“Cut loose the chutes!” he roared into the comm. “Over-ride thrusters and go in hot.”
“You heard the Praefect!” roared Centurion Avilius. “Evasive drop protocol!”
Aurelius smiled with pride when he heard the supreme discipline of the Legion as the orders were instantaneously repeated and carried out without hesitation. Activating his own release controls, he felt the sudden rush of speed as the drogue separated and he was freefalling again. A quick adjustment to the thruster settings and he engaged the jump jets, giving him more speed and control for the remainder of the descent. It came with a price, though. They were going to hit the ground hard.
Chapter II
Order of Battle
"Deos fortioribus adesse."
"The gods are on the side of the stronger."
- Tacitus
Aurelius felt the shock all the way up both legs and into his back. Despite landing on one knee with his off-hand resting on the ground, the force of impact still took him a long moment to recover from. All around him, he could hear armored legionnaires making planet-fall. He could also hear the roar of their enemies’ weapons as they reacted to the invasion of their home world.
Getting to his feet, all the armor systems came back online, and telemetry began feeding into his heads-up display from the sensor information gathered by the ships in orbit. Instantly, the map began updating with pinpoint locations of where the cohorts were landing. Despite a few minor adjustments, they had landed well within acceptable mission parameters. It was time to begin the conquest of Haakon Prime.
Data filled his screen as status updates were brought online. There were sixty beacons that had gone black, indicating that they had either burned-in or been blown out of the sky during freefall. Despite their loss, Aurelius was quietly pleased. It was a much lower number than he had been anticipating when he realized the tech-level of the planet had to be higher than their intelligence briefing had indicated. There would be time to mourn the loss of their brothers later. Now they would honor them by achieving glory through victory in battle.
“All cohorts,” called Aurelius. “On my command, release the full fury of the Iron Legion!”
All around him the sound of Centurions relaying orders of battle filled the COMM lines, as each unit carried out their part of the invasion plan. The briefest of smiles played across the corners of his lips as he listened to the supreme discipline of the Iron Legion. Of his Legion. There was no greater glory than leading warriors such as these.
“Cry havoc!” screamed Aurelius over the command comm. “Unleash the dogs of war!”
Instantaneously, the night sky flared cyan as the drop armor’s main guns spewed death at their foes. Tactical displays indicated that all units were coming under heavy fire from the indigenous people, but no casualties had been taken by the legion so far. Aurelius knew that wasn’t going to last. The power readings on the enemy’s weapons indicated that they were more than capable of inflicting heavy damage to their armor.
“Fratres[1]!” called Aurelius. “Grant no quarter!”
Firing his jump-thrusters, Aurelius made a short hop over a small building. The architecture seemed oddly unsettling to Aurelius. It was more smooth edges and organic design than he was used to. The buildings looked more like they had been molded than assembled. The colors of the buildings seemed to shift as he moved. For some reason, that bothered him.
Shooting as he flew, his Saggitta micro-missiles tore through the side of a large armored vehicle that was approaching his position. The vehicle had segmented armor and oddly shaped treads, giving it more of an insectoid appearance than an actual vehicle. The armor piercing tips of the missiles punched through into the interior compartment before exploding in a hell-storm of shrapnel and fire.
The burning wreckage of the armored vehicle shuddered to a stop and burst into searing hot flames. Aurelius was already checking his display for the next target before he hit the ground. The servos strained as the heavy armor landed on cobbled streets that were paved with some sort of purple-colored quartz. Whatever it was, it didn’t crack under the force of his armored boots.
Just as Aurelius was preparing for another jump, he got his first actual look at one of the local life forms. They were taller than humans, nearly as tall as his armor. Their skin was a light purple in color that seemed to gleam when the light hit it. They were angular in build and Aurelius could tell that they were insectoid. Two sets of appendages extended from the ends of their arms.
One was clearly a polydactyl hand with one more joint in the fingers than found in humans. Above the hands were what appeared to be extendable pinchers or claws of slightly larger size than the hands. They also had mandibles that extended outside of their mouths with multi-faceted eyes. On their backs was a type of tail that ended with a barbed tip that glistened with moisture in the flashes of light from the night sky.
“They must have evolved from some type of scorpion,” thought Aurelius.
Two of the creatures came running towards him, holding some type of assault rifle in their hands. As they were aiming the weapons at him, he could see the claws were clacking furiously as they approached. It created a weird sort of noise that sent a ripple of coldness down his spine. He could feel the noise in the back of his head, as much as hear it. It was eerily unsettling.
Taking quick aim, he opened fire with the Arcus light machine guns built into the backs of his gauntlets. The 10mm projectiles struck the carapace of the creatures and bounced off. More surprised than anything, Aurelius was almost caught off guard as the two creatures opened fire on him. He could feel the impacts on his armor and felt the ricochets as the slugs careened off in random directions.
“Warning!” called the cold computer voice. “Projectile weapons systems capable of piercing outer armor with a direct hit. Ablative armor coating down to eighty percent effectiveness.”
Suddenly it struck Aurelius that not only were the locals more technologically advanced than their briefing had told them, but they had weapons that could inflict heavy casualties on the Legion if they were not careful.
“Computer,” said Aurelius, “complete bio-scan on indigenous life forms.”
“Working,” replied the computer.
Switching to the heavier energy weapon, Aurelius engaged the powerful Spatha particle cannon. Despite their reinforced carapace, the particle beam incinerated them in a bright flash of cyan.
“All cohorts,” called Aurelius. “The Arcus system is ineffective against these creatures. Switch to heavier weapons. Spatha and Sagitta systems are more suitable.”
A quick check of the heads-up display indicated that the orders were being relayed without delay and that the legion had already encountered heavy resistance. Several cohorts were showing battle damage, but no casualties had been reported. There were no more missing beacons and that w
as a good sign.
“Titus,” said Aurelius over the COMM channel, “move your cohort two kilometers to the south and reinforce the IV Cohort.”
“By your command, Praefect,” replied Titus.
Instantly, Aurelius could see Titus’ cohort begin to shift positions on the map. He could see the impressive volume of fire that they were now bringing to bear against the surprisingly stiff resistance that they had encountered from the local life-forms.
Aurelius thought to himself for the briefest of moments, “Would we do any differently if this was our world?”
However, it was not a soldier’s place to ponder that question. It was his destiny to live and die by the legion’s command. Even though they were in a different time, they would carry out their last standing orders to take this planet and secure its resources for Fabretti Interplanetary. They would secure the resources for their corporation, even if it cost them their lives.
Bio-scan data began to flash across his heads-up display. The armored carapace of the creatures was thick enough to stop bullets, but the segmented joints where the carapace pieces met were weak. Targeted shots could still get through. There was also an unusual reading concerning the stinger on the end of the creature’s tail. Not only was the barb sharp enough to pierce light armor, it was toxic. Readings indicated it could cause paralysis or death in enough quantities.
“All cohorts,” called Aurelius as he fired his jump-thrusters to clear a partially collapsed structure. “Indigenous life forms are insectoid, and scanners indicate that they secrete a neurotoxin from the stinger on their backs. Do not engage in hand-to-hand unless all other options are expended.”
Just as Aurelius was adjusting his jump-thrusters for a landing, six of the creatures emerged from inside the partially collapsed structure. They were closing on him too fast to adjust his landing and he wouldn’t have time for another jump before they engaged him. From the way that they were carrying their weapons, it was clear that they were intending to capture him.
“Not today,” he snarled as he reached for the hilt of the Gladius on his hip.
The blade came free with a swish of air as the razor-sharp steel slid free.
“Computer!” bellowed Aurelius. “Engage the Scutum!”
Aurelius brought his left arm up in front of him with his fist directly in front of his face. The emitters embedded in the left gauntlet lit up and came online. Instantly, energy crackled to life as a shield of pure force appeared between him and the creatures. The actinic blue-colored energy rippled with power as small arcs of electricity ran up and down the length of the field. Despite the nature of the field, Aurelius could feel the weight on his arm. The field utilized photons and gravitons to stop all types of attacks, giving the shield both substance and weight.
The field ended right above the top of his helmet and extended down to just above the top of his boots. The polished blade of the Gladius shimmered with the reflected light of the energy shield. The field had fully locked in place as Aurelius hit the ground with enough force to collapse the remaining part of the structure. The creatures wasted no time in fanning out and advancing on him, moving in to englobe him to prevent his escape.
“Cry Havoc!” screamed Aurelius as he launched himself directly at the nearest opponent.
The creatures were not ready for the sheer ferocity of the legionnaire’s attack, or the brutal efficiency of the blade/shield combination. Before they could react, Aurelius had sliced cleanly through the left claw of the nearest creature, shoved a second one back with the shield, and spun around neatly decapitating a third.
Two of the other creatures attempted to strike him with the barbed tail. One was turned away with an audible snap of energy from the shield. The second bounced off his left shoulder pauldron, taking a small chunk of steel with it. Aurelius could feel the force of the blow, even through the armor plating.
“Warning,” chimed the computer, “damage to left shoulder armor. Direct hit from barbed appendage capable of piercing outer armor.”
“That’s not good,” thought Aurelius.
On the heads-up display, Aurelius could see that all over the map, the creatures were emerging from below ground or from inside structures. The scanners were indicating that they were coming out of the ground by the hundreds of thousands. The legion was heavily outnumbered. There had been nothing in the threat briefing to indicate that these creatures possessed such massive numbers.
They were swarming the legions in hopes of getting inside the range of the powerful energy weapons. Aurelius knew that experienced warriors would have no problems engaging these creatures with blades and shields. The problem was that most of this command was comprised of fresh troops, untested in battle. This could easily turn into a brutal defeat if they did not change tactics immediately.
“Fratres!” screamed Aurelius over the COMM channel. “Engage the shield-wall! All cohorts engage the shield-wall! Orb formation!”
Experienced commanders all over the map began carrying out the command, but Aurelius knew that the blood was running cold in their veins. It had been more than a generation since the command for the shield wall had been given and even longer since a standing legion had to use the Orb. They all knew that their situation had to be grave if the shield wall protocol was initiated. The Orb was generally a last stand maneuver.
Aurelius was unable to give the cohorts another thought. The surviving beings were now pressing their advantage. One of the creatures was down and one of the others was wounded. Even the wounded one did not seem overly bothered by the loss of one appendage. Aurelius knew he had to do something quickly to even the odds.
Beginning in the depths of his stomach, Aurelius felt the rumble begin even as he was only forming the thought in his conscious mind. It was a soul-deep growl drawing on battle tradition from a time beyond the current legion. It dated back to the original Roman Legion of Earth. It was a battle-cry called a Barritus. Although most effective when employed by an entire legion, the rumbling bellow would reverberate as the legionnaires would amplify the cry by using the shields to channel it.
Despite being a legion of one in this fight, the roar that emerged from Aurelius’ throat stunned the attackers. It forced them to hesitate and take a cautious step back away from the thunderous cry of the warrior before them. That fatal hesitation was all the opening that Aurelius needed to press the attack.
Launching himself forward, he sliced through the neck of the first creature that he passed, nearly severing the head as the body fell away from him. The second creature brought up its right arm to block the attack, but the razor-like edge of the Gladius passed through the appendage without hesitation and split the head from crown to chin.
The viscous fluid made a sickening wet sound as Aurelius yanked the blade free, sending pieces of the carapace flying off into the night. Twisting to his left, he drove the tip of the blade through the right eye-cluster of the next creature in his path. Of the remaining two, one turned to flee and the other reached for his rifle that was slung across his back. Neither would prove successful.
The creature had no sooner placed its hand on the stock of the weapon when Aurelius drove the tip of the blade through the center of its chest. With a twist and a savage pull, Aurelius pulled the blade free and tore the chest cavity wide open. Green fluid erupted from the wound and poured out onto the ground like semi-congealed gelatin, rolling away in chunky globs and soaking into the dirt.
The creature that was running away only made it a dozen or so paces before Aurelius spun and threw the Gladius. The beautifully crafted and balanced blade flipped end over end before embedding itself into the center of the creature’s back, burying up to the hilt in the carapace. The creature took two more stumbling steps before collapsing forward, face down in the dirt.
Firing the jump-thrusters, Aurelius leapt nearly twenty feet into the air and came down with one massive armored boot crushing the head of the still twitching creature. Gore and chunks of carapace exploded outward
from the force of the blow, spraying sticky effluvium onto the walls of the nearest buildings.
Recovering the blade, Aurelius surveyed the area for additional threats. Finding none, he deactivated the Scutum field and checked his heads-up display for the nearest group of legionnaires. He found two cohorts that had formed a large circle and were busily holding off over ten thousand of the insectoid creatures.
Adjusting his jump-thrusters, Aurelius plotted his vector and leapt into the air. He angled his trajectory to bring him down in the center of the circle of embattled soldiers.
“Fratres,” he muttered, “I am coming.”
Chapter III
Agamemnon
“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast,
for I intend to go in harm's way.”
- John Paul Jones
“Fratres,” roared Aurelius’ voice through the COMM channel, “I am coming.”
All around the bridge of the Agamemnon, faces turned pale and all eyes were suddenly on Cassia. She felt a lump form in her throat, not just for the heavy burden placed on her shoulders, but also for the man she loved now fighting a desperate battle on the planet below. The COMM lines were filled with frantic orders being called out by the Centurions and screams of pain from wounded and dying legionnaires. The battle was quickly turning against them.
“All wings,” called Cassia, forcing her voice to remain calm. “Launch all squadrons of fighters, now! Close air support for all engaging units.”
Moments later, the slight shudder in the deck plates followed by the faint whoosh from the launch tubes indicated that the fighters were deploying rapidly. The agile, single occupant fighters were streaking from the carriers and quickly forming into wings as they entered the upper atmosphere. The sleek lines of the fighters with the tri-mounted thruster engine pods on the rear and three short wings that formed a triangle around them seemed to be little more than blurs on the screen as they all accelerated to attack speed.
Lost Legion- Blood and Honor Page 2
