“Forma!” shouted Casca. “Ab Signis Descedite![23]”
The four cohorts executed a perfect 45 degree turn to the right and fell out of formation. They all moved directly for the places that had been held in reserve for them by the remainder of the Iron Legion. As they were falling into place, Aurelius, Octavius, Cassia, Flavianus, Densus and Casca took their places on the grandstand. They took seats on the right side of the podium and as far away from Garibaldi as they could without appearing directly insulting.
Once the cohorts had joined the rest of the formation and resumed the position of attention, Garibaldi stood and strode towards the podium. Aurelius took note that he didn’t bother to wear any kind of ceremonial dress. Instead, he wore the expensive business suit that he favored. It had been expertly cut to hide as much of his obesity as possible. The tailor was a genius, because it almost worked. However, it did nothing to make him any less repulsive. He was now just a pig in an expensive suit.
Aurelius watched Garibaldi with contempt as he waddled to the podium to address the assembled legions. Although careful to conceal it from his face, he could not keep himself from clenching his fists until the knuckles turned white. It was not until Cassia placed her gentle hand on his scarred right fist that he was even aware that he was doing it.
“Relax,” she whispered. “There is no need to be nervous.”
Aurelius almost smiled. She had completely misread his intentions. He wasn’t even slightly nervous about getting a medal. He was contemplating much bigger events. Forcing himself to relax his hands, he merely nodded slightly at Cassia.
Taking the podium, Garibaldi cleared his throat as he adjusted the microphone.
“My fellow legionnaires,” he began.
That made Aurelius wrinkle his nose in disgust. How dare that filth refer to himself as one of the legion. Especially after demonstrating just how little regard he had for them.
“It brings me great pleasure and satisfaction to come here today to bestow honor upon the bravery of the legion,” he continued.
Aurelius exchanged a quick glance with Octavius. The Praetorian didn’t look any more convinced than Aurelius did.
“Today, we honor not only the courage of the legion,” he said, building up his volume, “but the sacrifice and dedication of a leader who truly embodies the spirit of the legion, itself.”
Aurelius felt nausea forming in the pit of his stomach. He did not want to accept any honor from this man. Garibaldi didn’t know the meaning of honor or dedication. He didn’t deserve to address such warriors as the ones assembled here today.
“It has been a generation since the legion has awarded the Legion Medal of Honor to a warrior,” said Garibaldi, warming to the speech. “And never in the history of the legion has a single recipient been awarded two in the same ceremony. Only three in the history of the legion have won the Legion Medal more than once, and never in a single ceremony. Today, we witness history in the making. I have read the accounts and seen the battle footage personally and even I cannot believe what I saw. To many, courage is merely a word. A concept. To Praefect Marcus Aurelius of the Iron Legion, they were as much a part of him as the blood in his veins. It is no wonder that the Legion Council voted unanimously to endorse both nominations for the Legion Medal of Honor.”
That brought a roar of approval from the legions.
“To present the awards,” said Garibaldi, “I am proud to introduce Praetorian Claudia Drusus Livianus. She is a member of the Legion Council and Commander of Interdiction Fleet Marianus Ovidius, home fleet of the Legio MMXXVI Fulminata.”
Cheers arose from the entire legion, including Aurelius. It was a relief that he would be presented with his awards from someone in the Legion. Livianus was a Fleet Officer, but the Legion held the fleet in high regard. After all, it was the fleet that brought them to the battles and supported them throughout the fighting. He would have preferred that he receive them from Praetorian Octavius, but at least it wasn’t Garibaldi. The fact that Livianus was a member of the Legion Council was a big point in her favor.
Moving to the podium, Praetorian Livianus walked with pride and confidence. Her dress uniform bore the medals of numerous encounters and battles. Clearly, she had seen her share of action in her career. Her blue eyes were clear and alert, despite the hair having turned steel-grey. It was easy to imagine her at the command of a bridge during a battle. She had the bearing of a commander and the confidence of a warrior.
“Warriors of the assembled legions,” she began, her voice solemn. “I come here today to celebrate the glory of the Legion!”
The Legions roared their agreement. Livianus waited patiently as the cheers died down, again.
“The Legion Council reviews the reports and footage of every battle,” she said, glancing down at the notes that she had placed on the podium. “I have to say that the footage I reviewed was like nothing I had ever witnessed in all my years serving with the legions.”
This caused cheers to erupt from the legions.
“Discipline and bravery are the hallmark of the legion,” she added, “but what I saw went above and beyond the call.”
More cheers roared through the legions, for which she calmly gestured that order return. It did in a matter of moments.
“From the Battle of Haakon Prime, the Council has made the following decisions,” she continued. “The Iron Legion performed with supreme valor and perfect discipline in the face of an overwhelming enemy. For this reason, the Council has voted to award the Iron Legion with the Eagle of Valor, which will adorn their standard and proclaim to all the honor of the Legio MMXIV Ferrata.”
The roar of approval was nearly deafening and took several long moments to subside.
“Also, from the Battle of Haakon Prime,” continued Livianus, “The council was impressed with the coolness under fire and the leadership of Praefect Marcus Gaius Aurelius. He demonstrated all that is best in the legion. He remained focused and brought his legion through a battle that most of us believed could not be won. Not only did he bring them out of the fire, but they emerged victorious. For this, Praefect Aurelius is awarded the Legion Medal of Honor.”
The assembled legions bellowed their approval and the Iron Legion drew their swords and began clashing them against their shields, raising the decibel level even higher. Aurelius glanced at Cassia and saw pride and tears in her eyes. Nodding once at her, he stood and strode to the podium to face the Praetorian.
The Praetorian turned and placed the ribbon around his neck which held the golden medallion that represented the Legion Medal of Honor. It was adorned with the eagle of the legion and other symbols of their history. Inscribed were the words Aut cum scuto, aut in scuto. It literally translated as “Either with your shield, or on it.”
The Iron Legion erupted into cheers as they beat their swords against their shields. The cry was taken up by the rest of the assembled legions and the roar was nearly deafening. Aurelius turned and gave the closed-fisted salute to the crowd, which only served to inspire them to louder cheers. It took several minutes before the cheering died back down. Aurelius returned to his seat and the Praetorian turned back to the podium to address the legions, once again.
“Now for the Battle of Hadrian,” she said, to the approval of the legions.
She paused dramatically to allow the cheering to subside and the expectation to grow.
“Before I present the second awards,” she said, turning her head to look in turn at each legion, “I would like to announce a promotion that has become necessary, in light of the most recent battles. With the tragic loss of Legatus Cyprianus, it fell to the Council to find a suitable replacement for such a valued warrior. The decision was an easy one, as we had to look no further than the man we were already reviewing for the Legion Medal of Honor. It gives me great pleasure to announce the formal promotion of Praefect Marcus Gaius Aurelius to the position of Legatus Legionis of the Legio MMXIV Ferrata.”
The Iron Legion cheered. Octavius patted A
urelius on the shoulder and mouthed “congratulations.” Cassia squeezed his hand and he could see tears in the corners of her eyes. Aurelius had to swallow hard to avoid breaking discipline and reaching out for her.
“There will be other promotions awarded today,” she added, “but I will leave those to Legatus Aurelius to announce after the awards are presented.”
Aurelius stood and bowed his head as he saluted the Legion. This met with a roar of approval and the clatter of swords on shields from the Iron Legion. As he returned to his seat, the noise died down so that the Praetorian could finish her presentation.
“For exemplary gallantry and courage under extreme circumstances,” she began, “the Legion Council has voted to award both the Legio MMXIV Ferrata and the Legio MMDLXXV Felix with the Eagle of Valor. Courage and discipline are at the core of the legion, but in this battle against the T’kri’t’ek, these two units exemplified the spirit of the Legions of old. Glory and honor upon these two legions as they shall forevermore carry this award on their standards so that all may know the honor and courage of the Legio MMXIV Ferrata and the Legio MMDLXXV Felix.”
The Felix Legion drew their swords and joined the Iron Legion in striking their shields. The roar of the combined legions could be felt in the ground and reverberating throughout the grandstand. Aurelius felt it in his chest and closed his eyes, imagining it was the chorus of ancient Rome as he entered the city victorious from war. He understood now why conquering heroes often a person had designated to walk beside them to whisper, “you are mortal.”
As the cheering lingered on, Livianus returned to the podium to gesture for the crowd to quiet down before she continued. It took a few moments, but silence soon returned to the field. The sun began to break through the clouds and Aurelius knew that the Gods were watching this unfold.
“Now for something that no living Praetorian has ever had the occasion to perform,” she said, holding up the medal to allow the gold to gleam in the sunlight that was filtering through the clouds. “I will present a second Legion of Honor to the same recipient for a different battle. Never in the history of the Legions of Fabretti has this ever been accomplished. Few warriors have won the Legion of Honor. Fewer still have won it twice. None have won two in a single ceremony. To the glory of the Legion, I again honor Legatus Legionis Marcus Gaius Aurelius of the Legio MMXIV Ferrata!”
As Aurelius stood to approach the podium to receive his second Legion of Honor, movement caught his eye. Garibaldi was speaking to an advisor and the look on his face indicated that it wasn’t good news. The aid began speaking furiously into a COMM device on his cuff while holding his ear piece. From the look of panic on the aid’s face, Garibaldi was clearly threatening the man for whatever was going wrong.
Aurelius locked eyes with Cassia and inclined his head towards the exchange with Garibaldi. Cassia’s eyes grew narrow as she studied the two men.
“Track that communication,” he whispered as he turned back to the podium.
Cassia leaned down and began speaking quietly into her own COMM, getting priority access from Agamemnon. Aurelius was happy to see that Garibaldi was too focused on the assistant to notice what Cassia was doing. Even if the transmission was encrypted, they could track the source of the transmission and work on breaking the code. If it was a Fabretti code, then they wouldn’t have much difficulty breaking it.
Taking his place near the podium, he stood at rigid attention in front of Praetorian Livianus. Reverently, she placed the second Legion Medal of Honor around his neck to the roaring approval of the legions. Aurelius felt the weight as the medal settled into place beside the other one. As he turned to face the assembled legions, a roar began that was unlike the others. It started with the Iron Legion and then quickly spread to the others. They were greeting him with the Barritus.
Raising both hands before him, the roar of the Barritus reached a crescendo and he felt a wave of pride run through him unlike any he had ever experienced before. The assembled legions were all paying him honor by using the same battle-cry he had used to rally his men in battle on Haakon Prime.
“Fratres!” he roared, raising both fists into the air.
The cheers that rose from the legions resounded across the countryside like the rumbling of thunder. The fury of their roar crashed against them like the rolling waves of a storm-ravaged sea.
“Brothers!” called Aurelius, holding his hands out to encompass them all. “I humbly accept these awards in your name. After all, we earned them in battle together. Our blood was shed, and our swords fought as one. These honors belong to us all.”
More cheering erupted as the legion continued to cheer.
“I feel that they would follow young Marcus into the gates of the Abyss,” whispered Octavius to Casca.
“As would I,” replied the veteran warrior without taking his gaze from Aurelius.
“He certainly has that effect on his men,” said Octavius, nodding.
Cassia looked up with the color gone from her face. Whatever information she had intercepted had shook her to her core.
“What is it?” asked Octavius, leaning closer to her.
Even Casca looked surprised at the sudden change in her. He leaned over to hear what she was about to report.
“We were able to break Garibaldi’s encryption,” she said, keeping her voice low.
“What did you find out?” demanded Casca.
“It was a status report from the Fabretti Labs on the Pollux Station,” she said, shaking her head. “They were updating Garibaldi on the failure of the latest tests on the T’kri’t’ek. They called the battle that was fought here a failed field test and that they would have to factor in the battle results in the next round of genetic modifications.”
“Are you saying that Fabretti created the T’kri’t’ek?” snarled Casca.
“Keep your voice down, Centurion,” commanded Octavius. “If this is true, then we cannot afford for Garibaldi to know that we know.”
“Of course, Praetorian,” replied Casca. “My apologies.”
“Why was Garibaldi so upset?” asked Octavius.
“Because the next batch of the T’kri’t’ek was supposed to be ready to test against all of us,” explained Cassia. “They were delayed and will not reach Hadrian in time to release on the assembled legions.”
“Garibaldi intended to wipe us all out,” said Casca, his voice dripping with rage.
“It would seem so,” answered Cassia. “The T’kri’t’ek were designed to replace the legions.”
“Why?” asked Octavius.
“Controllability,” replied Casca. “Creating an instant army from the lab, they can genetically program them to follow orders. They also require no training.”
“No force has ever beaten the Wyrd in ground combat,” explained Cassia. “Fabretti believes that they have changed that with the creation of the T’kri’t’ek.”
“Garibaldi will answer for this,” said Octavius.
“He will,” replied Casca. “As soon as Aurelius learns of his treachery.”
“We have bigger problems than that,” said Cassia, turning to face them.
“What is that?” asked Octavius.
“The T’kri’t’ek are coming,” she said. “They will be here in less than twenty-four hours. This time they’re sending enough to take on eight legions.”
When Aurelius returned to the group, Garibaldi returned to the podium. He began giving a speech to the assembled legions, claiming that they would be required to remain on the planet for a few days. Although he claimed it was to see to the funeral arrangements of the honored dead from the battle, Cassia knew better.
Octavius informed Aurelius of the information that they had learned from the intercepted communications. Aurelius listened without reacting and kept his face neutral, although they could tell from his eyes that his anger was building.
“Cassia,” said Aurelius, keeping his voice low to avoid being overheard.
“Yes,” she said, looking w
orried.
“Can you replay that communication?” he asked.
“Of course,” she replied. “We copied the entire message.”
“Good,” said Aurelius. “Patch into the legion communications frequency and play it for everyone. Put it on the Praetorian Guards frequency, too. I want everyone to hear this.”
“Are you certain that’s wise?” asked Cassia. “Garibaldi will know we discovered the truth.”
“I will deal with Garibaldi,” said Aurelius, coldly.
Chapter XV
Rubicon
“The die is cast.”
- Julius Caesar
Cassia worked with Agamemnon control and began patching the communications through, as Aurelius had requested. In seconds, every legionnaire in the sector would be hearing the traitorous transmission. For good measure, she patched into Fleet Communications, as well.
“Might as well let the Fleet crews know, too,” she thought.
Garibaldi was still talking, but no one was really listening to him. Every member of the legion was listening to their betrayal being replayed for them over the COMM channels. Even the Praetorian Guards were looking around in confusion. Aurelius was curious where their loyalties would now lie, once it was revealed that they were no longer needed and that Fabretti had already found their replacements.
Aurelius stood and approached Garibaldi. It took the pompous bureaucrat a moment to realize that he was standing behind him. Confused, the porcine businessman turned to face the young warrior behind him. It was clear that Garibaldi was used to giving commands and never being in any kind of personal danger. He failed to realize the danger he was in.
“What do you want, Aurelius?” demanded Garibaldi, petulantly.
The public-address system could easily pick up the exchange between the two men. Every word was broadcast for all to hear.
Lost Legion- Blood and Honor Page 16
