Lost Legion- Blood and Honor

by D. A. Roberts

  Adjusting his thrusters, Aurelius changed his attack vector to engage the queen directly. On the heads-up display, he could see that both Casca and Praefect Cicero had followed him. He would not be taking on this fight alone.

  Landing in formation, the three warriors directed their fire at the queen’s bodyguards. Aurelius opened fire with the Arcus light machine guns in his gauntlets. The carapace of the T’kri’t’ek was normally enough to stop the high velocity projectiles, but when he concentrated on areas that already had wounds, the results were devastating.

  “We shall take the soldiers,” shouted Casca. “Get the queen!”

  Aurelius nodded and fired his jump thrusters. Leaping over the guards, he landed directly in front of the massive queen. He could see his armor reflected in the multi-faceted eyes that were now locked directly on him. She began shrieking and clicking so loudly that Aurelius could feel it through his armor. On the heads-up display, he could see that every T’kri’t’ek that was still able to fight was now turning and heading directly for him.

  Aurelius unloaded with the Arcus light machine guns and peppered the queen with the lethal projectiles. He was shocked to see that it had absolutely no effect. Her armor was thicker than the others. Aurelius was unprepared for how large she truly was as she fought her way back to her feet. Where the warriors were roughly the size of an elephant, the queen was the size of a blue whale. She was roughly thirty feet long and had to weigh several tons.

  Hissing with malevolence, the queen launched an attack straight at his head with her massive scythe-appendages. Aurelius dodged to the side and managed to slice off the nearest appendage at the joint. The other adjunct gouged a massive tear down the right side of his armor, ripping through the heavy steel as if it were tissue paper. Alarms sounded and indicated that the armor had been breached and the jump thrusters were completely offline. It also indicated that severe damage had been done to his leg and medical systems were attempting to suppress the blood loss.

  Aurelius could feel the searing pain lance through his body. His leg was on fire and he could tell that the armor’s systems were pushed to the limit just to keep him from bleeding out. He ignored the medical displays, preferring to not know the full extent of the damage. He needed to keep his mind on the fight. He had to end this fight quickly, or they were going to be swarmed by the T’kri’t’ek as they came to defend their queen. If he could put her down, then the legions could dispatch the rest. The battle would be all but over.

  Aurelius struggled to keep his footing and the massive queen drove her badly wounded attachment into his side, knocking him flying into the wall of a burned-out building. He crashed through and landed in the middle of what had once been the primary living area of a family. As he fought to get to his knees, he could hear the queen smashing her way through the building to get to him.

  Shaking his head, he saw something in the rubble near his right hand. Carefully brushing aside the debris, he found a picture of a family. Clearly, it had been the family that had once occupied this dwelling. They were a household that had been destroyed by the T’kri’t’ek. No, the T’kri’t’ek were only the instrument. The real perpetrator had been Fabretti when they unleashed this plague on an unsuspecting colony world, just to see if it worked.

  Anger filled Aurelius in a way he had rarely felt before. Although he prided himself on his discipline, the rage was now filling him. Ignoring the pain, he stood up and raised his Spatha. He could hear the queen smashing her way through the building, coming for him.

  “Come on!” he roared.

  Erupting through the wall, the queen hissed and shrieked when it saw him. Behind her, Aurelius could see more than a dozen of the fighters coming to defend her. It was now or never. If he could not stop her before they arrived, then he would not be able to defeat them all.

  In one swift motion, the queen sliced down in a powerful stroke of her remaining scythe. It was clear that she intended to pierce his helmet and split him in two. Aurelius waited until the last second and twisted to the side, slicing downward as he moved. The razor-sharp steel passed through the adjunct at the second joint, removing it completely.

  Swinging her body, the queen attempted to crush him beneath her weight. Aurelius acted quickly and activated the emergency override on the jump thrusters. The right leg was completely offline, but he could activate the left thruster. He had less control, but it did propel him into the air. He angled himself directly at the queen’s head and gave it full power.

  Using himself as a spear with the Spatha leading the way, Aurelius slammed into the triangular head just below the right eye and penetrated the armored exoskeleton. At full power, he could only ride it out and see where the armor took him. There was no control remaining.

  Blasting through the queen’s head, he erupted from the other side and through the roof of the dwelling. The thrusters died in mid-air and he plummeted to the ground from close to thirty feet in the air. The armor took most of the damage, but he still had the breath knocked out of him. The heads-up display was indicating that most of the armor’s systems were now offline completely. He had less than four percent power remaining and only the emergency medical systems were still functioning.

  Looking up, he saw that he was surrounded by T’kri’t’ek. Although they were confused and leaderless, it was clear that they were still coming to tear him apart. As he struggled to raise the Spatha that was still clutched in his right hand, the heads-up display crackled with enough power to show him the proximity readout. Cohorts I through VI of the Iron Legion were landing all around him. The T’kri’t’ek were falling. He could only smile as pain and blood loss overtook him and he started to pass out.

  The last thing he saw was Casca landing beside him and covering his fallen armor just as he had covered Cyprianus.

  “Legio Ferrata,” roared Casca. “On me!”

  Aurelius smiled as the darkness overtook him. His legion had survived and conquered the T’kri’t’ek. This was a good death.

  Chapter XIX

  Unbroken

  “Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys;

  look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death.”

  - Sun Tzu

  The legions were gathered in their dress uniforms. The band was playing softly, and the banners were fluttering gently in the breeze. It had been nearly a week since the battle with the T’kri’t’ek had ended. The revelation that Fabretti Interplanetary had been behind the T’kri’t’ek the entire time had been transmitted far and wide. The results had been devastating.

  Fabretti stocks had plummeted on the Galactic Exchange and profits were down, costing them trillions of credits. To add insult to that, the Legions had abandoned them. They had taken their weapons, ships and families with them. Since they were the entire military arm of Fabretti, they had been unable to stop them from leaving. Fabretti could only watch in horror as they sailed off into space.

  In that week, sixty legions had arrived on Hadrian with another seventy still enroute. There had never been a gathering of this magnitude in the history of the legion, before or after the legions of Ancient Earth. It was unprecedented, and it sent a dire warning to Fabretti. If they tried to attack them again, they would not be able to stop the retaliation that would follow. Like it or not, the Legion now controlled their own fate. They had Marcus Aurelius to thank for that.

  That was why the legions were gathering on Hadrian. For one, they were flocking to the banner of the newly-formed Roman Empire. For another, they were here to pay their respects to the man who had inspired them all. The entire sector had watched the battle with the T’kri’t’ek. Cassia had made certain of that from the bridge of the Agamemnon. She had relayed the combat footage to the news networks. Soon, everyone in the known universe would see the results of that battle.

  The entire sector cheered when the queen died. They also mourned when Aurelius fell. The last images taken from Casc
a’s helmet camera showed that Aurelius still had his sword clutched in his hand. Then the footage faded to black.

  Now a gathering of the legions was preparing to honor him, as had never been seen before in the galaxy. There was a gathering of nearly seventy legions. The Iron Legion had the position of honor guard. No one questioned that the honor should befall them, since Aurelius had commanded the Legio Ferrata.

  The precision of the drums brought everyone to attention. The litter bearing Caesar Marcus Gaius Aurelius was approaching. At the top of the marble stairs of the ruined capitol building, Cassia stood wearing a simple white toga with a laurel crown adorning her golden hair. Her rigid posture and clear eyes painted her as the very image of Venus. She struggled to remain calm as the litter bearing Aurelius approached her.

  The banner of each legion dipped in respect as the litter passed by them. The horns sounded the call to arms as each legion presented their swords at the passing of Aurelius. The swords were grasped with the blades pointed downward and the hilt was struck against their chest plate. The ring of the steel echoed from the walls of the ruined city. Despite the scorched marble and broken stone, this place would be rebuilt. It would shine as the capitol city of the new Roman Empire.

  Slowly, the litter approached the steps and was borne slowly to be presented before Cassia. There were tears in her eyes now, as the honor guard stopped before her. The silken banners that adorned the litter were fluttering in the breeze and she could see Aurelius laying on the cushioned litter, his dress armor gleaming in the sunlight. His skin looked pale against the armor and his features seemed at peace.

  For a moment, Cassia felt a pang of pain at the thought of losing him. She relived that moment on the bridge of Agamemnon when she watched him fall in battle against the T’kri’t’ek. Just as the tears fell from her cheek, Aurelius smiled at her and sat up.

  “I could have walked, you know,” he said, as he painfully levered himself off the litter to stand beside her.

  “You were ordered by the surgeons to stay off that leg as much as possible,” replied Cassia.

  Aurelius took her arm and smiled. He felt her strength as she did her best to help steady him.

  “The pain is manageable,” said Aurelius, taking his place beside her.

  “Until it is fully healed,” she whispered, “you cannot push too hard. We could have postponed this until you were healthy.”

  “I promised you that we would be wed once this battle was concluded,” said Aurelius. “I could not wait another day to call you my wife.”

  Cheers rose from the legion as the newly crowned Caesar took his place beside her. The priests of Mithras approached to begin the ceremony that would unite them. Along the steps around them were Casca, Cicero, Flavianus and Sempronius Densus. They were more than Aurelius’ honor guard. They were his brothers. Octavius stood near Cassia, acting in place of her deceased father.

  “Let us begin,” said the high priest.

  Finis

  Author’s Bio: D.A. Roberts

  D.A. Roberts is an author of fiction, primarily in the horror/dystopian and science fiction genres. Born in Lebanon, Missouri, he now lives in Springfield, Missouri with his wife and sons. When not writing, D.A. serves his community in Law Enforcement.

  Best known for his “Ragnarok Rising Saga,” he blends the zombie genre with elements of Norse Mythology. The series has been called “a thinking man’s apocalyptic world.” This is a unique approach that creates a new sub-genre in Apocalyptic Fiction. Debuting in July of 2012, the series has been featured on radio shows on three continents.

  He is also known in science fiction for “The Infinite Black Series.” This series is based on the hit video game from Spellbook Studio. Approached by Spellbook Studio to create the history of their universe, D.A.’s series explores the rich tapestry that is The Infinite Black. Download and play the game for free at www.Spellbook.com.

  Find more about his work at

  www.jellingtonashton.com,

  www.amazon.com/author/daroberts

  and

  https://www.facebook.com/DARobertsAuthor/

  * * *

  [1] Fratres – from Latin. It means brothers.

  [2] Ad testudinem – Latin command for Testudo Formation

  [3] Ciringite frontem – Hold Your Position.

  [4] Cuneum formate – Wedge Formation.

  [5] Ad dextram, depone – Right wheel, deploy.

  [6] Ad senestram, depone – Left wheel, deploy.

  [7] Parati – Ready!

  [8] Oppugnare – Charge!

  [9] Victory! To the Iron Legion, the victory!

  [10] Ave Legio Ferrata – Hail the Iron Legion

  [11] Attention!

  [12] Stand at ease

  [13] Dismissed

  [14] Principes – lowest rank in the Legion.

  [15] Square Formation

  [16] Orbem Instruite – Orb Formation

  [17] Ad Tergum Vertite – About Turn (About Face)

  [18] To drive back or repulse and attack

  [19] Fire at will

  [20] Fall in

  [21] Formation, Attention

  [22] Forward

  [23] Formation, break the ranks.