by M. J Kreyzer
They wanted blood. They wanted their drug. They needed their fix, and with the invasion of Praemon merely days away, they were about to get it.
Chapter 12
The twin planets Eygus and Altigo were faint in the sky; only their edges could be seen like a massive crescent hovering next to its younger brother. The moon was beginning to pass through the dust belt on one of the planets and glowing meteorites made fluorescent white ribbons across the sky. Beneath the pale light of the planets Praemon slept peacefully, resting on its hill overlooking the mountainous crossroads. In the surrounding forest insects chirped and beasts howled, the untouched and uninhibited wilderness casting a calm lull over the darkened night.
In their beds the citizens of Praemon slept, curled up in silken sheets, sinking into bulging comforters and sleeping beneath the soft, cool mountain breezes that flitted in through their open windows. The night had a soothing purr to it that formed a soft blanket of tranquility that wrapped the entire city.
Across the valley on the narrow top of the mountain ridge a Forge Tank dug into place. On both sides of it every ten meters more tanks planted themselves into the ground. There were dozens, maybe a hundred Forge Tanks that created a thin white line that stretched along the thin mountain crest, their cannons ready and aimed down the side of the mountain at the darkened city below. Not long after they had locked into place did white armored Legionnaires flood between them. Thousands upon thousands descended down the sides of the mountains like white specks being drawn towards the city. Their guns held tightly they marched through the forest. They wanted death. They wanted gory massacre.
In the river running through and outside the city more Legionnaires crept, only the tops of their heads visible above the surface of the water. They were nearly invisible; the babbling waterway reflected the white planets and camouflaged the water bound Legionnaires flawlessly.
On all sides of the city the First Legionnaire got closer and closer to Praemon; the trees concealed their presence. From above it looked like a thick, white circle that constricted around the city, threatening to strangle it.
The area around the tanks was a flurry of activity. Soldiers, mechanics and operators made sure everything was in place and ready for the assault. Final inspections were being made on the vehicles. Tank placement was being evaluated and reevaluated to ensure they were in position to do the most damage.
Climbing out of a Forge Tank, Vladmir Frenz couldn’t help but smile. He parted through the bustling soldiers and stopped at the edge of the cliff where the tank was perched. Watching his army converge upon the city was a potent and exhilarating feeling. How long had he waited to see a fight like this. Even more exciting was the fact that he would be joining the soldiers on the ground shortly and taking an active part in the attack himself.
He was no longer the coolly dressed executive he typically appeared to be. Frenz was dressed in the finest and most intimidating armor the Legionnaire had with a long crimson cape signifying high leadership that draped over one side of his back. On the left side of his chest plate, the area normally reserved for medals, was a crudely drawn Razorback skull that Frenz had carved himself. He rubbed a hand along the hilt of one of the cutlasses sheathed across his back in wild anticipation. He surveyed the assault and ground his teeth with anxiety.
“General Frenz,” Came the voice of a colonel from behind him. “Perimeter sensors have been taken offline and the last of the Darks Cruiser armada has been drawn away for the time being. Our own cruisers will have moved into place by the time they get back.”
“The anti-air guns, Colonel Rafferty.” Said Frenz. “First priority before we move our cruisers into position is take their AA guns offline. Why do you think we haven’t just burned through them with our cruisers in the first place?”
Rafferty nodded his concession. “Correct, Sir… My apologies.”
“Don’t apologize, it was a simple oversight. The men have their orders so sit back and relax.”
Rafferty nodded and returned to his post. He was anxious, ready for the assault to commence. Everything was going flawlessly. Praemon still remained oblivious to the attack. What few soldiers patrolled the rooftops paced their posts lazily under an imaginary comfort. They’d be dead within a few minutes.
Slowly and surely the First Legionnaire built up around the outer wall, waiting for the command to attack. The Legionnaires in the river had cut through the grating into the city and were now inside, each sneaking to one of the four outer gates that allowed access into the city while others moved towards high priority targets.
Everything was ready. Frenz’s hands shook.
“General?” Said Rafferty. “The troops are in position and the Forge Tanks are ready to fire. Would you like us to set the tanks to discriminate against any targets?”
Frenz laughed. “You’re kidding me, right?”
It was the exact answer Rafferty wanted to hear. He smiled darkly and relayed his final orders through his helmet radio. The tanks made smooth, mechanical hums as they adjusted their sights and set aim on Praemon. All along the line that the tanks formed the humming rolled as one after the other corrected their aims and picked out their specific targets.
Thousands upon thousands of Legionnaires made a thick white crowd around the city’s walls. They bunched up around the outer gates, nearly fighting each other to get in. The tank pilots were twitchy. The overgrowth-clad and refractor equipped Phantom snipers scattered all through the forest kept their eyes down their sights, knowing exactly who they were going to kill when the order was given. And if anybody made it out of the city, they’d be waiting. At the gates Berserkers shoved through, Nightwolves frothed at the mouth and gnashed their teeth, Skirmishers hopped back and forth to check their adrenaline and Demolitionists had their fingers on their bombs, ready to lob them at the first word.
Everything was set. Frenz breathed the excitement in one last time.
“Send them to hell.”
The tank that Frenz stood next to was first to fire. The tank fire spread immediately outward in a devastating chain. Blue flame erupted from the ends of the Forge tank barrels as devastating particle charges soared towards the city.
Blue and orange flame billowed from the craters where each tank round impacted. What few Dark soldiers who weren’t caught completely off guard raised their rifles in vain to repel the attack. Some exploded in bursts of blood across the rooftops while others’ heads blasted apart beneath sniper fire. The First Legionnaire set into action. They kicked in doors, jumped through windows, weapons raised in search of something to kill.
The first blast ripped Hendrick from his sleep. He shot up in his bed in time to see a Berserker approaching his bedside. Seeing Hendrick break from sleeping the Berserker lunged at him. Without hesitation Hendrick reached under his pillow and withdrew a black combat knife. The Berserker swung an axe at Hendrick. He ducked his head beneath it, jumped up, put a hand on the back of the Berserker’s head and jammed the knife up through the bottom of his jaw. The Berserker immediately stopped, taking several lumbering steps backwards and falling to his back. Hendrick didn’t pause.
“DITRINITY!” He yelled.
The Ditrinity had already emerged from their rooms, hastily throwing on their battle armor and heading to the exit of the penthouse. Hendrick grabbed his shirt, snatched up his Blazers and mounted them on his wrist. He doubled back and grabbed the armored wolf skull his nightstand and went back into the hallway, coming out at the head of the Ditrinity. They followed quickly behind him, tightening their armor and making final adjustments. Morlo sang quietly to himself as he loaded a fresh chain of bullets into his chain gun while Sable, walking just in front of him, still carried her armor in one arm while she adjusted her camisole she had thrown on. Hendrick shook his head to himself and pounded the wall.
“They knew it would happen.”
The Ditrinity moved into the main room where the entire outside wall was glass. They had an inobscured view of the mountains o
n the other side of the valley. The top of the ridge seemed alight with a white glow against the night sky while flashes of blue popped up all across its length. Seeing the mountains and the entire valley outside of Praemon they’re quick, purposeful strides slowed to a stop. Hendrick hadn’t seen the outside yet and taking in that view shocked even him. They were quiet as the war raged on outside. They walked towards the window and looked out. Pontious shook his head and spoke quietly to himself.
“Mother of god.”
“…so many of them…” Sable whispered.
Morlo grunted and checked his cannon for the fourth time. The others watched quietly as thousands of white figures sprinted down the hill.
Hendrick’s mind was a blur. It seemed like there were a million things they’d have to do to survive. Praemon had over three hundred thousand citizens. What would be happening to them? Where would the escapees run to? If the Ditrinity escaped, where would they go? Hendrick recanted that question. Find Luke and lay some waste; that’s where they’d go. But there was one thing he had to worry about first. He had to find Tess and get her out of the city.
Trey barreled through the door with blood staining his right side and a dripping halberd gripped in one hand.
“Just got off the roof.” He panted. “Legionnaires are flooding the building. They called in the whole arsenal for this one. I’ve never seen so many sets of Raze armor. I haven’t seen an assault like this since Olsgrad… The city’s full of ‘em. From what I could tell there’s over twenty thousand and rising…”
“Twenty thousand.” Vyvyr said. “The First Legionnaire sure knows how to overkill.”
“You hurt?” Hendrick said, pointing to the blood.
“There’s a shitload of Legionnaires downstairs.” He said raising the halberd in his right hand. “I ran into a few. They’re everywhere.”
“We’re not doing anything waiting around.” Pontious said, the orange in his eyes seeming to burn.
“They aren’t just killing us, Nate.” Trey went on without regarding Pontious. “They’re being brutal. They’re getting nasty.”
Hendrick rolled one shoulder in preparation and moved towards the door. He pulled his mask and rested it on his forehead. “Well Pontious is right. Those asses aren’t going to kick themselves.”
“Frenz is here.” Trey said immediately.
Hendrick stopped. His breath became short. He looked towards Trey and his voice was low. “You sure?”
Trey, still panting, swallowed hard and nodded. Hendrick’s eyes ignited. His consciousness seemed to run off somewhere else for a moment as countless scenarios poured through his head. Trey couldn’t tell but he could’ve sworn he saw Hendrick suppressing a smile. Hendrick turned around towards the Ditrinity which had formed up behind him.
“You know what we have to do. Finding and protecting Tess is our first priority.”
They nodded. Hendrick went on.
“We’ll split up into groups of two. Morlo and Vyvyr, Trey and Pontious, and Sable you come with me. We’ll take the lower city, Morlo and Vyvyr take the west gate and Trey, Pontious, You take the east gate. Comb the areas, keep an eye open for Tess and we’ll meet up at Command. Help anybody that needs it and if you see a tactical advantage that will set the Legionnaire back at all you sure as hell better take it. Got it?”
There was no verbal response. They were ready to fight.
“Then let’s do this.” Hendrick growled. He pulled the wolf skull over his face and disappeared behind its black, empty eyes and took off.
The Ditrinity sprinted through the door towards the stairs. Flames spewed from between the partially opened elevator doors. Screaming could be heard from inside. They tore down the stairs and rounded the next corner. There were three Legionnaires: a Berserker, a Skirmisher and a Helldog. With a stream of bullets Morlo tore a hole through the Berserker’s chest. Sable dodged the Skirmisher’s razor flail and stabbed him through the neck. Hendrick opened up his flamethrower and consumed the entire bunch.
They continued down the stairs leaving the crackling flames in their wake. Twisted and bloodied bodies were everywhere, stretched over the banisters, curled in the corners, some still moaning in agony. The Ditrinity couldn’t help. Sable apologized remorsefully to every person they passed.
They made it to the street. It was complete chaos. Panicked people ran in every direction, some carrying what they could while others were content with escaping with their lives. Dark smoke and hellish flames billowed towards the sky. Holes were blown in the sides of the buildings. Craters destroyed entire streets. Bodies littered the sidewalks. The First Legionnaire was everywhere and what Dark soldiers remained cowered and died. They provided no deterrent to their destroyers.
“We meet at Command!” Hendrick yelled above the screaming tank rounds and deafening furor. “And give these pinpricks a fight to remember!”
The different pairs already had targets set aside. The Ditrinity immediately jumped into the battle. From beneath his cloak Vyvyr drew a long scythe and went after a group of knights. Morlo roared and took an entire squad by surprise. Trey tackled a Skirmisher and slit his throat. Pontious had transformed into a wolf and was tearing at a Helldog’s jugular.
Hendrick took a deep breath and broke into a sprint. “Let’s go!”
They dodged between fleeing people, coming across swarms of Legionnaires as they did. Hendrick tackled one into a broken fence post and skewered him through the chest. Sable cleaved the arms of a Berserker about to crush a person with a small car. His arms flopped to the ground and the car fell backward onto his head.
They came to the peak of the hill. All of Praemon could be seen. The city below was in even more chaos then the upper regions. They couldn’t see much detail; just a marauding, glowing hot inferno. The tanks on the ridge were no longer aimed at the city; they were concentrating on those trying to escape outside. The flames and carnage reflected in their eyes, the pair lingered for a moment, the scale of the attack reaching its full reality.
“We’re not going to make it, are we.” Sable said.
Hendrick looked down at her with a half-smile. “Don’t be a drama queen.” He said, forcing happiness into his voice. “And we’re going to find Luke. Imagine how pissed off he’ll be now.”
The thought of Luke was a comfort to Sable. “You think he’ll come?”
Hendrick took a deep breath and started walking some more. “Not a chance.”
The two sprinted down the hill in the direction of Command. Hendrick and Sable battled their way through the massacre. Everywhere it seemed that the First Legionnaire was being met with no resistance. Even the largest, toughest Darks were getting shredded by mere Knights. The pain and misery thickened the air so that it pressed against Hendrick’s and Sable’s chests. Their breathing felt constricted by everything around them. It was something they were prepared for but it wasn’t something they had ever thought would actually happen. They had seen dire situations before but this felt different. This felt final. The sickness in Sable’s stomach told her that there wouldn’t be any coming back from this. This invasion was the end of the Darks.
“What’re we going to do, Nate?” Sable said leaping over a pile of bodies. “There’s no place for us to go anymore. The Legionnaire have-“
“The Legionnaire’s destroyed the Darks.” Hendrick stopped her. “But they haven’t stopped the Ditrinity.”
“How can this not scare you!” Sable demanded.
Hendrick laughed and kept running. “Hold on a second.”
A pack of Nightwolves tore hungrily at a Dark soldier who pushed feebly against their hungry snouts, begging in weakened whispers for them to stop. Hendrick adjusted the temperature on his Blazers, raised both hands and ignited them.
“Suck this down!”
The air exploded in a blast of incinerating light. The Nightwolves howled. The flames were white hot; the animals burned on the spot and fell over the shredded body.
A Skirmisher came at Sable from beh
ind. He flung his razor flail which wrapped around her forearm. She screamed as the blades on the whip dug into her flesh. The Skirmisher tightened it and dug the blades deeper. Gritting through the pain Sable pulled as hard as she could, forcing the Skirmisher to stumble towards her. With three lightning fast strikes she hewed him.
A squad of Legionnaires saw the action. They formed up and rushed them. The razor flail still embedded in her arm Sable crouched into an attack stance. Hendrick adjusted the spread on his flamethrower and laid down a wall of fire. The Nightwolves in the squad shrieked and died. The Skirmishers didn’t make it through but the heavily armored Berserker and two Knights plunged through without injury. With a leaping stab Sable engaged the Knights. The Berserker roared and charged Hendrick with his axe held aloft. Hendrick moved his feet in place as the behemoth bore down on him. The Berserker swung. Hendrick rolled beneath it, got on his side and kicked the side of the Berserker’s armor where the knee cap should’ve been . The shin plate dislodged and there was a violent crack. The Berserker yelled, grunted through the pain and swung his axe down at Hendrick. He rolled and the axe grazed his pants. Hendrick spun to his knees, adjusted his weight and tackled the unsteady warrior around the neck. The Berserker’s armor clattered as he fell to his back. Hendrick jumped to his head, put his foot in the Berserker’s throat and ripped his helmet off. Hendrick put one of his Blazers just above the Berserker’s nose and looked him in his fearful eyes. Hendrick shrugged casually.
“Checkmate.”
The flames engulfed the Berserker’s head. His body arched violently in pain but immediately went limp. Hendrick got to his feet, spit on the ashen corpse and found Sable jamming her sword through the last surviving Knight’s sternum. They acknowledged each other and continued on.
Command was only a few blocks away. Sable moaned as she dug the razor flail out of her arm and tossed it to the ground.
