Guard at the Gates of Hell (Gladius Book 1)

by George Olney

  The two shuttles blasted many of their own, but they also killed Gladii before an anti-air team smacked one from the sky and Bat personally fireballed the other. Among the Victrix dead was Legate Corona, killed by mere chance and the laws of Murphy.

  CHAPTER 5

  LEGIO XV RHIANNONITHI

  NIAD

  When the troop carrier holding the survivors of the liner and the surviving fragment of the Rhiannonithi arrived at 10TH FSG Base on Niad, it was mostly empty. Not abandoned, Major Camille Paten told herself as she made her way to Base Headquarters to turn in her after action report. Unit signs were still up and the base was still functioning, but the Fleet Support Group and the Tenth Valeria were both gone somewhere. Correction, she thought as she saw several Gladius children on a nearby playground, they were on a mission. Non-combat personnel and nondeployables were still here.

  Inside the headquarters, the Naval Intelligence section was still fully staffed and a Fleet Lieutenant, no name mentioned, escorted her into a private office for her debriefing. He took the chip with her report and put it into the office terminal, then said nothing more while he read. Looking up at her after the report, he said, "Good report, Major, unfortunately, I don't think it's unique. From what we found out last month, I suspect things like the destruction of the Rhiannonithi and the attack on that liner are happening all over the Empire."

  The Lieutenant was conversant enough with Gladius expressions to see her amazement and distress. He shook his head with a grim smile. "I think I can say it's official. The Empire is collapsing.

  "Most of the reason is the Empire's been in decline for the last couple of centuries," he continued. "The rest of it is Emperor Shangnaman is bat-shit crazy, a paranoid sociopath to a degree that would have him committed if he wasn't running things."

  "Attacks like this are happening all over?" Camille asked, knowing better but hoping he'd deny it.

  He didn't. "Yes. They tried a takeover on us a month ago. It failed because one of the two Imperial operatives involved, Major Claude Ancel, went over to our side and blew the thing wide open in time for us to stop it. He also said the Empire is doing a major smash and grab on Tactine right now. Tactine's not too far from here and it's also the strategic, commercial, and economic center of this cluster. If it's devastated, most of the surrounding worlds - including Niad - will be left without the resources, manufacturing and shipping capability to keep running. Tactine has to be preserved for everything out here to keep functioning. That's where the FSG and the Tenth Valeria have gone - to stop the Empire from ruining the entire cluster."

  Camille's shock got deeper. "But, for Lord Above's sake, why raid?"

  The intelligence officer smiled grimly. "Ancel filled us in. It's as hard for me to believe as it is for you, trust me. Shangnaman's faced with an Empire that's slowly being starved for resources because whole sectors are breaking away while other worlds, such as those in this cluster, are simply drifting out of contact with the central government. The Emperor has ordered raids by new military forces he's created to hit the breakaways and outworlds for everything Middle Empire needs. He doesn't care that they're leaving devastation behind them."

  Camille thought fast and hard. "Shangnaman is killing off the most viable worlds to preserve the declining center of the Empire. If he keeps it up, he's going to destroy civilization if Middle Empire collapses like you say."

  "And leave whatever's left vulnerable to conquest by half a dozen alien governments we could both name," he replied grimly. "You've got the problem in a nutshell."

  His face got hard. "But there's more to it.

  "The people of Middle Empire are so sheltered and out of touch with what's happening to outlying Empire sectors that they have no idea the crash is coming. They aren't ignoring or in denial about things like breakaways or a failing government. They simply don't know. When the collapse hits them, it's going to be tragic. What's even more tragic is that there's nothing we can do about it. Billions, trillions of people will suffer and many will die. Possibly all of them if – when - those alien governments I mentioned attack.

  "Like I said, Shangnaman's a paranoid, and one of the things he fears most is us: the old line military, Corps and Frontier Fleet, even though we're the ones keeping Imperial borders intact. He knows perfectly well we won't support the Imperial See's pillaging human worlds, so he's trying to eliminate us and doesn't care about the consequences.

  "According to Major Ancel, the plan works like this: the government sends in agents such as him to suborn key members of an FSG then uses the FSG to destroy the legion based with it. What's left becomes a part of the new forces."

  Camille slowly nodded. "That's what happened to us, I think. In all of the confusion of the attack, I wasn't really sure. Are there any more of these operations? How much of the Corps has been attacked?"

  "We don't know," the Lieutenant replied. "Your attack and the failed attack on us are the only two we have any information about, but it's reasonable to assume it's happening all over the Empire. We've had no contact with other Corps units or FSGs for a while, even Fleet and Corps Headquarters. Once Legion Commander Garua and Admiral Mackinnie return, we're going to try to find anyone that's left and gather them here. If we can create an area strong enough to keep the Empire off, we might be able to save human civilization, at least in this cluster. The rest of the Empire is on its own."

  After the debriefing, Camille walked slowly back to their temporary quarters, deep in thought. The pending catastrophe for billions was so horrific she couldn't grasp it, not yet. The second part of the news, Empire attacking human populated worlds, the very worlds she and the Corps were sworn to protect, was something she could understand very well, if not the reasons. Those attacks made the Empire the Predator, she thought, the worst one in human history. The Empire - the bedrock of human civilization - was the enemy, an enemy the Corps had to defeat to save this cluster. As Camille thought about what that meant for the future, she found her thoughts even more frightening than the Rhiannonithi's destruction.

  #####

  In another part of the base the Narsim Clarine Femiam and her daughter Lana were having it out in their own quarters. They'd been informed a chartered tramp freighter was going to take the liner's survivors to Cauldwell and there was a major disagreement between them. The argument wasn't a quiet one.

  "I don't want to leave!" Lana shouted.

  "And I say no!" Clarine replied just as hotly. "I'm not leaving you here in the back of beyond with nothing but these uniformed barbarians just because you've got the hots for some boy. There are plenty more on Cauldwell. You'll find someone there to pass the time."

  "Suppose I don't want to just pass the time," Lana said grimly, her hands clenched into fists. "I suppose you don't know - or care - that I'm sick of the way you live."

  Clarine glared. "The way I live has gotten us where we are."

  "Yeah, refugees and broke."

  "No, once we get to Cauldwell, my cousin will get us set up again," Clarine said with grim determination. "I refuse to yield to this setback. Yes, our money disappeared on that liner, but I still have connections. We won't be destitute long. Now forget that boy!"

  "That boy, as you put it, Mother, risked his life to save ours. If I recall correctly, there is absolutely nobody on Central that would do that!" Lana took a deep breath. "I got to know him in the ship's hospital. He's a decent person, and I didn't know any of those. You don't know any of those either! I didn't know they still existed!"

  "He's a Gladius," Clarine snarled. "They aren't anything but robots. They have no emotions and no purpose except to kill. You're nothing to him but a concept. Once you were safe, he couldn't care less what you did. He's forgotten you. Now, we're going to Cauldwell - together!"

  Both did go to Cauldwell together. All of the survivors did. It really wasn't noticeable to anyone on the ship, but several members of 10th FSG's Intelligence section went with them. Cauldwell was another key world in the cluster. Now that
the Empire was truly collapsing, Intelligence wanted to know about the situation on the planet.

  #####

  Legionnaire First Jamie Kardo hadn't forgotten Lana. Right now, he was on heavy equipment maintenance detail but it gave him time to think. Supervising the mindless mechs that serviced the Fifteenth Legion's remaining heavy weapons wasn't hard and gave him time to consider Lana. He'd never known a citizen before and wondered if they were all like her. There was a shell of cynical hardness around her, but he thought there was someone underneath he'd like to know better. Besides, there were only a few girls his age in the legion after the base destruction. Lana was different, and that intrigued him. Oh well, there were girls in the Valeria and he wasn't a Recruit any longer. He could date now. Still... Lana. He could daydream a little, couldn't he?

  BEAUREGARD

  The Narsima Matic Ettranty was in an elemental rage, but maintained enough control that it didn't show... very much. Sitting at his desk, he fumed silently, glad that nobody was in his office to see his anger. Revealing feelings was dangerous. The entire Lord Above triple damned legion was gone - just gone. The men, their casualties, their equipment, even the bodies of their dead, were all gone. Their base was just an empty shell, completely abandoned. The troop carrier was gone too, and that was even more worrying. Were they off planet or in hiding somewhere in the wilderness? On an off chance, he'd even had his Imperial liaison check the surveillance monitors in the hidden depots, but none of them showed any sign of activity. So where were they? Webster was no help. He'd denied any sign of them after what he said was a thorough search - if it was one and he wasn't in collusion with those damned Gladii. He couldn't arrange such a thing as a thorough search in the hours after the Wareegan battle anyhow.

  Ettranty shook his head, annoyed with himself. Webster was totally reliable. Ettranty told himself to stop looking for shadows. Webster promised another search as soon as his force could reorganize. It had to be done soon. That legion was dangerous, and he had to know where they were. He'd messaged the Emperor with the situation long ago and his orders were to keep the legion under close surveillance, to be disposed of once the Wareegan pests were gone.

  Now the legion was also gone - to who knew where - and he wasn't about to tell the Emperor that little fact just yet. Nno matter what his liaison said. Not until he had control of the situation again. He simply had to find them, and soon.

  Momentarily, he wondered about what happened to his daughter during the attack, but shrugged the distraction away. She was certainly among those killed, although they didn't have her body. Jhom, her tridio technician, said she was dead. The network had even announced her death while the battle was still in progress, of all silly things! The memorial service for her and the other casualties was tomorrow afternoon. He had to go to it, of course, and put on a properly grieving and sympathetic air. The sheep loved melodrama and Shana's death would increase his popularity ratings by a solid ten percent. At least she'd done some good dying.

  CAULDWELL, 48 HOURS EARLIER

  Shana was very much alive. After the battle, she and the rest of the legion were hastily boarded on the troop carrier and now they were heading for what she heard was some sort of huge underground depot. She gathered the thing was under one of the larger mountains in the Atlas range, clear across the planet from Bayview. One of the secret depots the Legate told her about.

  That thought brought a quick flash of grief. She'd been told he was dead and it surprised her how much that hurt. Well, she still had her legion, and it was hers completely now. She'd fought as part of it, even without a uniform or orders. She was a Gladius in the Ninth Legion now.

  Jhom, who knew her as well as anyone, could see something different in her, something scary. Something Gladius? She imagined that was one reason he'd readily agreed to her request to keep her survival a secret. When she'd asked him to let her drop out of sight, he'd said plainly she wasn't the same anymore. Then he'd hugged her and told her to follow whatever path was opening in front of her.

  For some reason, following that path and accepting whatever changes it brought just felt right to her. Recruit training? Whatever had started it, she was beginning a new life.

  Just how far she was down that path to a new life was shown to her a few minutes later by Staff Sergeant Howard. They were all crowded into a large - huge - deck, but decurions were sounding off and the men on the deck were rapidly draining into passageways as the ship went somewhere in a hell of a hurry. She was trying to figure out what she was supposed to do when Howard appeared before her, an unaccustomed smile splitting his unlovely face. "You did well, Recruit," he growled.

  Shana wondered if the man knew how to speak in any other tones, but the thought vanished at his next words. "So well you're no longer a Recruit. That little fracas qualifies as your Virgin Mission, Ettranty, and you did real well on it. You're a Recruit until your Virgin Mission, and you've just had yours, so now you're a Legionnaire. Just don't think you're a fully trained Legionnaire."

  He slapped her shoulder. "Okay. I admit it. You survived, but not only survived. You were unarmed, but you took an enemy weapon and saved a citizen's life with it. That's good work. Colonel Athan has okayed your promotion to Legionnaire Second."

  So now she was not only a real Gladius, she was one step above dirt. Actually, that felt pretty good now that she thought about it. "Uh... what now, Sergeant?"

  Howard laughed. "Well, you're not all alone in the great big wild galaxy, Ettranty. First thing, you need to get into a real uniform. No more pants, either. You've earned your skirt, Legionnaire, and something else. First, these."

  He put two metal things in her left hand and she looked down at them. Insignia. One was the crossed ax and short sword on a sunburst that was the Gladius emblem. There was a big IX overlaying the insignia. No, it wasn't an IX. It was the numeral nine in the ancient Roman numbers. The crest of a member of the Victrix. Her legion. The other was a number two, her new rank. As she closed her hand on the two insignia, she realized they meant more to her than any jewelry she'd ever owned.

  Then he topped the award of her insignia. Strangely, he blushed a little as he reached behind his back and pulled something from of his belt. "The Commander should give you this when you get your rank, but she's not with us anymore. I gotta do it. Put it on with your uniform."

  It was a Gladius woman's arm dagger with the tractor - presser bracelets hung around the handle. She was truly a female Gladius now. "Now," Howard said uncomfortably, "you don't go thinking you really know how to use that little toy. Like I said, you need a lot more training and you're going to get it, but you're a full Gladius and not a Recruit any more.

  "Normally," Howard continued, in a soft growl this time, "you'd get all this in formation. We don't have time for that right now, so get to your berth and get squared away. Then you report to the Sergeant Major. Here's a locator card. Follow it to your berth. It'll take you to the Sergeant Major when you're ready, too."

  Numbly, she took the card in her right hand, her left still clutching the precious bits of metal and her dagger, and put her thumb on the activation spot. She'd used cards like this dozens of times in the past, so she knew to follow the little shining ball that appeared. Berth? She had a berth on this huge ship? Apparently so. She looked up into Howard's eyes and tried to say something, but he shook his head, still smiling.

  "Don't bother, Ettranty. You did us proud today, Legionnaire, so go get into uniform." He slapped her shoulder again. "Then go find the Sergeant Major before he has my ass.

  "Dismissed." The growl was louder this time. "And for Lord Above's sake, wear everything right!"

  Automatically, she moved off, following the glowing ball. It led her down several passageways into an elevator that started as soon as she was inside. Once out of the elevator, she found herself on a deck that seemed strangely deserted. She pondered that feeling of emptiness as she followed the ball down the passage, then she noticed a sign. Female Legionnaire Quarters. Oh. It w
as empty because there were no women left in the Victrix. She was the only one.

  The thought didn't really hit her until she was inside the tiny compartment. There was a set of bunk beds, two sets of lockers, empty bookshelves, a tiny desk with a terminal, and not much else. One set of lockers was empty. The second set had uniforms in one locker and combat gear in the other. There were khaki blouses, long flowing skirts, coveralls, but no pants. Knowing the Gladius attention to detail, they were certainly her size. Automatically, she sat down on the lower bunk and began to remove her shoes.

  Then she froze. She was alone in this section because it was for the legion's junior women and she was the only one. There were no senior ranked women, either. No women at all. She was the only person in this whole empty section, the only woman left in the Victrix. The only one left - and she was recruited on Cauldwell. None of the others had survived to come to Cauldwell. She was the legion's only woman. Dead, all the rest of them, dead.

  Some of it was combat reaction, some of it was the situation, and some of it was grief. She'd seen the shadows on the parade ground during the integration formation. They were the women of the legion, her legion, and they were dead. Now she was a woman of the Victrix. The only one left.