The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3)

by Kocho Trajchevski

  “We did well this time sir. We hit them at the moment they started unloading the prisoners and caught them by surprise. The humans were of great help. They attacked the guards and prevented them from trying to stop our attack.”

  He turned and looked at Ngoan, his second in command. The boy was young, just twenty five cycles old but he had many successful missions behind him. He joined the army at the age of sixteen, after a raid in his village that ended with the deaths of his family. The only one surviving was his youngest sister whom he managed to save. After a long trip to Ksamona the ancient city buried in the deepest jungle on this world that nearly killed them he left his sister with the elders of the group he lead to the city and joined the army. As he thought of that word he smiled weak smile. The real Illian army was long gone, destroyed in the first weeks of the fighting. He and the rest of the fighters today fighting a losing guerilla war were descendants of the small groups of soldiers that managed to survive hiding together with a large population in the deepest and most dangerous jungle on Arcadia. According to the history he knew that the Dacarians never actually tried to find them. He knew that even today they didn’t really bother that much. According to the data they had, the empire had five legions permanently posted on this world. And with the legion that the new governor brought with him that number rose to six. Six heavy legions armed with weapons he could only dream of with a fleet in the system. He knew that they could and probably would crush the last resistance soon, probably in his life time. The attacks had increased in the last several cycles and more and more legionary cohorts were going deeper in to the jungle. Two of the forward camps were already destroyed in the previous cycle with a death toll of more than twenty thousand. And when you included the communities that followed them the toll was more than hundred and sixty thousand. That was fifteen percent of the surviving free population on this world and that included the escaped slaves that joined their ranks. They were the real soldiers in his army. Most of them hated the Dacarians with far worse passion then he or any Illian ever could. Yes he hated the Dacarians but that hatred could never be compared with the hate that the Sicarians, the Lacarians and especially the humans felt for them.

  “How many did we lose?”

  “We lost twenty in the attack and forty more after it from the aerial bombardment. But we have several hundred free prisoners and there were large groups of slaves that managed to escape in to the jungle. We might have more coming in every day if they manage to survive the jungle.”

  “Was there any sign of pursuit?”

  “No general, but we don’t have contact with Ogara. They are late and we know that their attack was successful.”

  “Send scouts to try and locate them and…”

  The sound of aircraft approaching from above the enormous trees hiding the camp interrupted him and the explosions that followed soon after it were the first sign that his fears were starting to come true. Flames engulfed large sections of the camp instantly killing thousands of soldiers and refugees. Moments later legionaries started coming down and breaking in to the camp from all sides.

  He turned to his com officer.

  “Inform command and the other bases that they are starting the last push. They should retreat to the defensive line. Tell them that we are lost.”

  He looked at Ngoan.

  “Try to break free and get out from here. Get as many as you can out Ngoan.”

  “But sir you must get back.”

  Angora smiled.

  “I’m old my friend. You and the others like you are the future. I will try to organize the defense and give you as much time as I can. Take command of your brigade and go Ngoan. You and your men will be needed when the real battle starts.”

  The young soldier saluted and then turned and ran towards the positions his brigade had.

  “Inform everyone that we will do a fighting retreat towards Omansa while Ngoan leads the refugees and his brigade towards the Ksamona Defense Line. We will try and lead them away.”

  He took a moment to look at the positions and options he had. He knew that Ngoan could and would extract through the underground tunnels. He and his brigade, three and half thousands of the best soldiers his division had, along with the thousands of refugees that arrived in the camp these days would get several more weeks of rest and free life.

  The rest of the division eight thousand more men would try and keep the Dacarians at bay for a little bit longer.

  As he marched out he noticed that his men those that survived the bombardment managed to stop the first wave of the dacarian legionaries. But he knew that that would only buy them just several minutes before the next wave hit them. As he watched the first brigade was preparing its defensive positions and their artillery pieces, the few they had started firing.

  He locked eyes with Sosar, the Acadian commanding the first brigade. The Acadian just nodded and then kept on commanding his men.

  He admired his courage. He knew that he would die, all of them did but he could sense no fear.

  They were brave. He hoped that he would be the same when his time came and as the first Dacarian Artillery bombardment started hitting the base he knew that it would soon be his turn.

  He turned with haste and went to join the other brigades that were already taking positions and retreating deeper in to the jungle but in the opposite way of Ksamona.

  Behind him the fight intensified as the legion cohorts moved in once again.

  Ngoan turned towards the fire in the distance. The jungle was in flames around the camp. He could still hear the sound of plasma weapons and lasers firing and he knew that the surviving elements of the division were still fighting. The plan was for them to feint the enemy to retreat towards Omansa in the opposite direction of Ksamona. He knew that there would be several battalions already headed in that direction to try and hit the legion cohorts in the flanks and rear. But as the reports trickled in from the other camps he knew that the chances for that were small. This was a major offensive with at least two legions involved. And according to the reports he got from Ksamona, two of the bases that managed to stop and throw of the first attack were destroyed by orbital bombardment.

  He watched for several moments and then he joined the rest of the soldiers and refugees that were slowly moving away. Moments later explosions muffled by the ground collapsed the tunnel behind him preventing the Dacarians from finding out they were headed this way.

  Rivers looked at the small band of humans and the three aliens that they managed to save. The aliens didn’t speak much after the initial conversation. The Sicarian and the surviving Lacarian were watching them constantly, while the Illian was mostly tracking the jungle, often moving ahead to check if they were on the right rout. The only thing he said was that his people had a small base deeper in the jungle and that they are heading toward it.

  He looked at Anderson who nodded and pointed towards Jenkins.

  He stood up and went towards the sniper.

  “We have a problem sir.”

  “How many do you think?”

  “Fifty, divided in two groups.” About three hours behind us.

  “So we didn’t lose them.”

  “After we waxed thirty of them, I didn’t think that they would give up so easy.”

  “It seems we broke the hornets’ nest.”

  The comment came from Doc who just came in. While Jenkins was their eyes back Doc was upfront.

  “What do we have ahead Doc.”

  “Large fire in the distance I think it’s their camp. And several shuttles headed upfront there is a clearing about thirty miles from where we are according to the map. It is small but a shuttle could land a platoon there. I believe that we have several groups ahead as well.”

  Rivers thought for a second and looked at the map.

  “They are boxing us in.”

  “We need to head deeper, towards the mountains and the swamps. We can hide there and we already know that their sensors can’t spot us in this jungle
thanks to the vegetation and the abundant life forms. If we don’t run in to them I don’t think they will find us. Not there.”

  Rivers looked at the six people they had with them. They were slowing them down but he knew that he couldn’t leave them. They knew too much and he didn’t want to kill them. And he knew that neither did anyone else. He knew Anderson was right.

  He turned towards him.

  “Bring Acura. We need to know what is waiting for us there. And he has to know.”

  Anderson nodded and several moments later the Illian was with them.

  The Illian looked odd. He was five feet tall, dressed in black armor. He had blue skin and three short facial tentacles on the chin of the elongated face. He had a very humanoid face with a normal nose and small ears and a small mouth filled with teeth very similar to the ones each human would have. Two brown eyes and black hair were completing the image. The Illian looked frail and he was sure that physically they were weaker than humans considering the ease with which one of the humans from the group raised him after the battle. He carried his rifle over his shoulder and had a belt with two guns and several knives.

  As he approached he nodded to Rivers who nodded back.

  “You wish to speak with me?”

  “Yes.”- Rivers answered him and pointed to the map. He indicated the position they were at and then he showed him the positions of the Dacarian patrols ahead and in the back behind them.

  “Doc can you show him the coordinates of where you noticed the fire?”

  Doc approached and indicated with his finger of where he thought the fire was. As he did the Illian staggered. He recovered fast but it was obvious that he was shocked.

  “That was where your camp was located isn’t it Acura.”

  “Yes human. They finally attacked. We knew this day would come but we hoped we have more time.”

  His pronunciation was not right but they all understood him.

  “Where would your troops retreat now Acura?”

  The Illian looked at him for a moment hesitating and then he indicated two positions on the map.

  “Ksamona and Omansa.”

  Rivers looked at the map. The two locations were far and in opposite directions from each other. They were both deep in the jungle.

  “One group is luring them in the wrong direction while the other retreats.”

  Rivers looked at Kelly.

  “Yes it is a good strategy.”

  Rivers looked at the map. Both positions were deep in the jungle in hard inhospitable terrain. But Ksamona looked more like being placed in a position for a better base and far more defendable terrain. It was a terrain very similar to the Amazon with huge swamps and rivers but also with high mountains and deep valleys and according to his memory there was a Ksand city somewhere in there.

  He looked at the Illian who was watching them.

  Rivers turned to Latin once more.

  “Ksamona is your home isn’t it. And it is somewhere in there. Not at the location you showed us but there inside that jungle.”

  The Illian nodded. Rivers nodded back and then indicated that he could go.

  Acura retreated immediately. He sat down away from the others trying to straighten out his feelings about the news they told him. It was obvious that the destruction of his camp hit him hard.

  “I wonder how many men they had in that camp.”

  “He will tell us when he is ready. The number isn’t important. He lost friends, maybe even family.”

  They all sympathized with him but that feeling never showed on their faces.

  “We need to lose those patrols before going deeper in the jungle. We can’t risk that they will follow us to our destination.”

  “If we are doing that we have to split up. My guess is they are following us using the trail our new friends leave. They are wounded and bleeding. We need to use them as bait.”

  Rivers nodded to Doc. They all knew that the Dacarians were using the trail the humans and the aliens left behind to track them. They hoped that by crossing the river they would lose them but it was easy for the Dacarians to guess that they would cross the river. With two whole enemy platoons eliminated it was normal they would be pissed off.

  “We turn and head towards our second camp site. We have supplies there that we need to pick up. After that Kelly and Flint will go with them the rest will turn around and shadow them. We will move slower and allow the Dacarians to catch up. We will try to pick of any stragglers they have and we use traps to kill as many as we can before we strike.”

  “That will be a pleasure sir. If you don’t mind Sing and I would prepare some surprises for our friends.”

  Rivers noticed the feral grin on the faces of the former Green Berets. They were still members of that unit but for this mission they were part of his team as well as several others who were part of the other teams operating on the planet. If he and the others were good Singer and Luis were the experts in jungle warfare.

  “I’m sure you would. You can join Jenkins in the back when we move and start preparing and planning. We will need three hours to reach the campsite. I hope that you will have something waiting for them before we split up.”

  “Yes sir.”

  The conversation shifted after that and several minutes later they all moved once again this time moving parallel with the river they crossed heading towards the second fallback position they had on this side of the river. It was smaller than their main camp site but it was well equipped and well hidden from sight.

  Krongar looked at the scout that showed him that the prisoners they were following turned again this time parallel with the river. He considered their movement for a second and then indicated his team to follow. He informed the other teams about the new movement of their prey and then returned his thoughts on the other two teams that followed this group. Those two teams had thirty two legionaries, all members of the Praetorian Guard just like he and his men. And now they were all dead. He remembered the bodies of the first group killed by a masterful trap made of the jungle and the second in a gunfight. He didn’t know how the slaves managed that but he was planning to find out. Hogar was his close friend. He wanted revenge for his death and he planned to get it.

  “I wonder what they are planning now Gunar.”

  “They might know that we are following them.”

  He thought for a second.

  “They probably do. We have to be careful of traps. The way they eliminated Hogar and his team was amazing.”

  “That kind of trap needs careful planning and executing. And they managed to trap him perfectly.”

  “You are right. Tell the scouts to be careful and watch for any surprises. Send two scouts to the rear as well. We need to be careful if they split up.”

  At that moment he heard the scream first from one than from two more of his forward legionaries. As they rushed towards the forward scouts he noticed that they were all impaled. Two of the legionaries were struck by the same spear a two and half meter long sharp pole that first stabbed the first one through the weak point of his armor in the neck and then struck the second one in his leg. He might have survived but the struck hit him in his main artery by the time they reached to him he already lost to much blood. The third one was the one who activated the trap. He caught two of the spears one right through his chest the other one in the joints of his armor on his shoulder. He had a quick death unlike the other two legionaries who slowly bled out. The spears literally tore his vital organs apart the one in his chest probably went through his lungs and maybe his heart.

  “Curse the gods. Tell the other scouts to be more careful. I don’t know who they are or how they know these tricks but they are deadly. Inform command of our location and about our losses.”

  The command was carried out immediately and after the three bodies were wrapped up and placed where they could be recovered they continued on.

  Jenkins watched the second group of Dacarians as they entered their camp site. The rest of the team
left almost two hours ago leaving him behind to watch the situation and inform them of how the trap went. After they packed all their supplies they placed four claymores on positions around the camp creating a perfect killing field. Considering the lethality of one claymore which was lethal to about 50 meters and the placement of the mines Jenkins knew that he was looking at what was soon going to be a massacre. He already knew that the other team lost five men to the ambushes that Luis and Singer prepared. This team lost two so far and now twenty three legionaries were entering the killing ground. Jenkins waited for the right moment and watched them silently from over three hundred meters.

  Each claymore was placed to cover one side of the camp.

  The M18A1 Claymore mine had a horizontally convex green plastic case. The shape was developed through experimentation to deliver the optimum distribution of fragments at 50 m range. The case had the words "Front toward Enemy" embossed on the front of the mine. A simple open sight on the top surface allowed for aiming the mine. Two pairs of scissor legs attached to the bottom supported the mine and allowed it to be aimed vertically. On both sides of the sight are fuse wells set at 45 degrees.

  Internally each mine contained a layer of C-4 explosive behind a matrix of about seven hundred 1⁄8-inch-diameter (3.2 mm) steel balls set into an epoxy resin.

  When the M18A1 is detonated, the explosion drives the matrix forward, out of the mine at a velocity of 1,200 m/s at the same time breaking it into individual fragments. The steel balls are projected in a 60° fan-shaped pattern that is 6.5 feet high and 50 m wide at a range of 50 m. The force of the explosion deforms the relatively soft steel balls into a shape similar to a .22 rimfire projectile. These fragments are moderately effective up to a range of 100 m, with a hit probability of around 10% on a prone man-sized 1.3-square-foot (0.12 m2) target. The fragments can travel up to 250 m. The optimum effective range is 50 m, at which the optimal balance is achieved between lethality and area coverage, with a hit probability of 30% on a man-sized target.