Black Legion: 03 - Warlords of Cunaxa (22 page)

The windows of the module became darker as they reacted with the growing heat outside of the craft. Streaks of flame filled the view, and then they turned completely black. It was as though the glass itself had become scorched from the intense heat.

“Re-entry, great,” muttered Glaucon.

“Uh, where are we going, anyway?” asked Tamara.

Her question seemed to wake up both Glaucon and Xenophon. They realised that none of them had even discussed where to go. Xenophon nearly panicked until he spotted Artemas pointing at the control unit in front of her.

“I set the co-ordinates when we ran in here. The fleet has been making a large number of drops in one particular area. That is where we are going.”

“What?” Glaucon said angrily.

“Well, where would you suggest we go?”

Glaucon shook his head but didn’t reply. Xenophon could see he was angry but probably down to the situation, not so much the actual decision.

“It’s not like we could have stayed in orbit. We were too low anyway, and the escape pods don’t have the power to get away from the pull of the planet. If we stayed up there, we’d probably get picked off in the battle. Even a fighter could destroy us with a single attack.”

They all knew she was right, but as the flames moved from the windows, they could see the clear skies around the pod and what lay beneath them. It wasn’t a world of trees, rivers and tranquillity. Instead, it was the heavily built-up planet of Cunaxa Secundus.

“Have you seen this place?” asked Xenophon. He leaned forward to look through the small forward facing windows. Directly in front of them were majestic spires, some even larger than those on Kashan. Mighty buildings, towers and huge walls made the city look more like a massive fortress.

“This is the Citadel of Cunaxa,” Artemas said proudly.

As they moved closer, they could see that all of the buildings in the area paled to insignificance compared to the natural peak in the centre of the capital; it was surrounded by a dozen star-shaped fortresses and massive walls. Each one was fitted with towers and bristling with turrets. Even more terrifying were the hundreds of fighters and landing craft dashing about in the skies, as the transports of Lord Cyrus disgorged thousands of warriors outside the walls. Streaks of smoke trailed behind damaged fighters and dozens of explosions marked where the fighting was the most severe. Even the sky around the city had darkened from the volume of fires, explosions and weapons fire. Artemas turned from the inferno, looking at them with a grim expression on her face.

“The Battle of Cunaxa has truly begun.”

Xenophon nodded and unclipped himself to check on the equipment in the small craft. Like all escape pods and lifeboats, it was equipped with emergency supplies as well as spare equipment, armour and even weapons. It wasn’t perfect, but anything was better than landing unarmed. Upon finding the lockers, he stopped alongside Tamara and looked at her medical gown.

“You should get ready. In a few minutes we’ll land, and I don’t think a gown is how you want to face Artaxerxes today.”

She tried to lean forward, but the straps held her firmly in place. Glaucon motioned for her to stay there and opened up the lockers containing emergency provisions, food, flares and clothing. There were a number of Medes jumpsuits and overalls. He grabbed a few and threw them over to her. She grabbed the first and held it in front of her. It was light grey and baggy, like something a deckhand would wear while repairing an engine.

“Are you kidding me?”

Glaucon laughed, throwing over boots and a belt.

“There isn’t that much in here. It’s mainly cold gear, layers and boots. You can stay with the robe if you want. I’m sure storming a fortress will be easy in that thing!”

Xenophon opened up the last of the internal containers. He paused in surprise, lifting out a piece of chest armour. It was light but surprisingly strong. What was really unexpected was that it was shaped for the female chest.

“Nice,” Glaucon gloated, enjoying Tamara’s discomfort; she so often jibbed and annoyed him.

Tamara shook her head in amusement and unclipped her straps on the seat.

“Nice, just keep passing it all back.”

They continued dragging it all out until the small craft was filled with an odd assortment of gear. Most of it was useless, and even Roxana could find few uses for survival rations. The prospect of landing under fire was of far more concern to her than what she would be eating in a week’s time. Tamara, on the other hand, had already stripped off her gown to reveal nothing but her pale flesh and more than a few scars. Glaucon and Xenophon looked away, both embarrassed, but Roxana was unable to tear her eyes away.

“Uh, Tamara. What happened to you?”

The young woman pulled on the baggy grey overalls, pulling the belt tight across her waist. It was all less than flattering. She looked to Glaucon and Xenophon, but they had turned their attention to the weapons. On the floor next to her was the chest armour. She lifted it up, groaned slightly as the pain returned to her damaged leg. It wasn’t the perfect shape for her, but it at least looked more feminine than the overalls. She held it to her front and nodded to Roxana.

“Can you give me a hand with this thing?”

Roxana pulled the straps, and the armour moved into position. Tamara continued fitting on anything she could find of use before answering Roxana’s question.

“You know the kind of work I used to do. Well, it didn’t always work out so well. In that business when things go bad, you get punished. I told you I was looking for something better.”

She twisted her neck to look at the woman.

“Don’t worry, though. Anybody that touched and hurt me got added to my list.”

Xenophon heard the last bit as he slammed in a magazine into one of the Medes combat rifles. It was one of their standard issue pulse weapons, not particularly different to the Doru weapons used by the Arcadians and also by Roxana.

“Your list?” he asked with raised eyebrows.

Tamara tilted her head to the weapons, and Xenophon tossed the rifle over to her. She grabbed it and lifted the stock to her shoulder to check the feel. It looked oversized on her small frame and odd assortment of clothing. Once satisfied, Tamara lowered the butt of the weapon to the floor.

“My list is up here,” she explained, tapping her head.

“Everybody that has screwed with me so far has paid.”

Xenophon wanted to laugh, but the look on her face, and his knowledge of what she was capable of, did nothing but send a shudder through his body. Only Glaucon seemed unperturbed by her words.

“Hey, little girl, I take it we aren’t on your list?”

She smiled back at him.

“You’re still alive, aren’t you?”

They all returned to their seats and pulled on their straps. The counter on the wall might not be in their language, but the dial clearly showed they would soon be on the ground. They watched through their nearest windows at the sight of ship after ship making its way down to the burning city and the great Citadel that pushed up from its core.

Citadel of Cunaxa, Cunaxa Secundus

The last kilometre to the surface was the roughest of the entire trip after escaping from the stricken Rashnu. Flak guns, pulse fire and missiles tore the skies apart as yet more craft swept down to disgorge their warriors into the fray; at least those that managed to avoid the gauntlet of firepower before crashing into the city as burning wrecks. Roxana had taken the controls; against the complaints of Glaucon who was convinced he was the better pilot. She’d manoeuvred them over the last hill range and brought them low of the landing grounds where so many craft had positioned themselves. Lines of tracer fire arced upwards, each stream seeking a target to cut apart. All the others could do was hold on to their seats and pray they would land in one piece.

“Come on, put us down!” Glaucon growled.

“Not yet, I’m taking us to the forward position where Cyrus has established his frontline.
The IFF signals show that troops from Meno’s ships have landed as well. Cyrus must have persuaded him to help.”

She paused for a moment before adding. “
Unless you’re planning on waiting this one out in the rear?”

Tamara chortled at the implied cowardice, looking away to ignore the glares from Glaucon. The craft shuddered as Roxana lifted the nose slightly to avoid gunfire and then dropped back down. Two rockets narrowly missed them, and then they were over the secondary landing area. They moved over three landed transport just seconds before one exploded in a massive orange fireball that sent metal and bodies flying in all directions. Xenophon watched the destruction as they screamed past.

“Glaucon’s right. We need to get down. The numbers aren’t on our side.”

Roxana banked the craft to the right and aimed directly at the outer walls of the Citadel.

“Okay, I have a drop zone, three hundred metres ahead. Hold on!”

She dropped the nose, jinking from side to side to avoid incoming fire as she closed the distance. It was incredible flying, and even Glaucon kept his mouth shut as they covered the short distance. Roxana said no more until they reached their glide path and started the landing procedure. The vessel deployed landing skids and the main engines reversed thrust at the last moment so that it feathered just before touching down. They made contact with the ground with a loud crunch and then off came their straps. Glaucon was first up and slammed his fist against the airlock seal. The first opened quickly, and he turned to help the others leave the craft. By the time he’d helped Tamara up, the warm air outside had wafted into the vessel.

“Everybody out, now!” ordered Xenophon.

There was no hesitation, and Artemas and the others moved right behind him, stepping out and into the shattered street in the heart of the city. Large numbers of buildings were burning away, but they paled to insignificance compared to the vast bulk of the Citadel of Cunaxa. The massive walls were pockmarked with damage and holes from the opening phases of the battle. Groups of automaton soldiers rushed into the ruins of the city to take cover from the blistering levels of gunfire coming from the walls. At the same time, large numbers of wheeled and tracked vehicles accelerated over the rubble towards a dozen small breaches that had already been opened up. Artemas stopped an officer as he led a company of soldiers to the front. She spoke briefly, and he then continued onwards. She looked to the others.

“Their second wave has breached the outer defences of the first starfort. Taochi troops are fighting through the defenders and making progress. That isn’t the main effort though. They are keeping them busy, so the primary force can breach the main walls. Meno and his men are assisting Cyrus at the main wall over there!”

Artemas pointed off to her right where the thirty-metre tall war joined the two star fortresses together. The forts were separated by almost half a kilometre of wall, and right in its centre was a massive arched entrance and thick metal doors that looked as though nothing could breach them. Each side of the arch was protected by a quadruple tower arrangement, and filled with turrets and soldiers.

“Why the wall? There is more open ground and little cover. It’s designed that way to create killing grounds.”

“True,” replied Artemas, upon spotting the arrival of an eight-wheel armoured personnel carrier. It was dull grey, and its front left corner was mangled from a crash or impact of some kind. Unlike most of the other vehicles, it flew the colours of Cyrus’ Anusiyan guards. It skidded, and a hatch opened to reveal a smartly uniformed officer. He looked to Artemas and then to the Terrans before speaking in a clipped accent and almost flawless English.

“Lord Cyrus asked me to look for any survivors from Rashnu,” he explained while looking up to the sky. The smoke was becoming thicker, and visibility had already reduced substantially since they had landed. He looked back to Xenophon, noting his uniform and Terran rank, but the Terrans looked equally surprised to hear the Medes warrior speaking their own language.

“You should come with me to the central command. Cyrus, Ariaeus and Meno are planning the main attacks against the walls. It is the most important part of the battlefield, and he will want you there.”

Xenophon nodded in agreement.

“Do it. Didn’t you say you knew this place well?” he said to Artemas. “You might have information your uncle could use in this battle.”

Glaucon helped Tamara to the now open side hatch of the APC and lifted her inside. The ground continued to shake from the arrival of mortar rounds. They came without warning from the sky and crashed around the assault positions. Most caused little damage, but the fear and uncertainly had an obvious affect on the less experienced soldiers, especially the automatons. Xenophon followed Tamara, but Glaucon grabbed him and stopped him vanishing inside.