“Jack?” he asked.
“I’ve not found any bodies. Either they got lost, or they made it up there,” she answered, pointing up to the top of the turret.
More sound came from below as both forces clashed, each trying to hit the other team with a mixture of training rounds. The shields seemed highly effective in this environment. The one side effect was they were now distracted by the arrival of Rexor and his group.
“This is our chance, come on!” called out Glaucon.
He lifted himself up and rushed ahead. It was a narrow path that led to the tower, but they covered the ground quickly and made their way into the lower level. Without stopping, they pushed on towards the side and a staircase that led up to the high level floor. Glaucon moved first with Xenophon following. Roxana was next and Erika last. They moved as quickly as possible, but Erika didn’t make it in time before the first group of the red team. They spotted her and blasted her with a dozen rifle rounds. Roxana barely avoided the impact before rolling inside.
“Stop them!” she called out, still disorientated by her scramble inside.
Xenophon spotted them approaching, but from the higher floor, he could do little except add what limited firepower he had into their number. He aimed his right hand carefully and pulled the trigger. The metal fist shook slightly as it released the training rounds. He loosed off six in total and spotted at least two of the attackers fall. Glaucon lifted his plasma cannon over the edge of the turret and aimed it down at the group. They were already spreading out when he fired. Unlike the real weapon, this one fired a single round that burst upon impact. It sent a cloud of quick evaporating gas around the target area stunning four more of the enemy. Xenophon did his best to try to avoid thinking about what an actual super-heated plasma projectile would do.
“Good timing!” called out Jack, as he and his group emerged from the top floor and joined them out on the low battlements. Each pointed their weapons over the edge and fired at any enemy that came close.
“Okay, Commander,” said Xenophon sarcastically. “We’ve secured the tower, what now?”
Roxana smiled and nodded towards the approaching enemy forces on the other side. The odd impact from a rifle or carbine round bounced off the wall ineffectually.
“Well, I’m surprised we’ve got this far already! I suggest we dig in and hold them off until Rexor and the rest make it to us.”
“When? You mean if?” laughed Glaucon.
From their raised position, they could just about make out the glowing shapes of the body shields as the two large formation of fighters met all around the tower. It looked like they had met head on, and both sides were trying to outflank each other. Rexor and his group were still fifty metres from the tower, and it seemed they were pinned down by heavy weapons fire. Jack turned around and called out.
“Two groups are moving in from the left. They’re between Rexor and us. I think they are trying to outflank him. What do we do?”
“If we stay here, we’ll hold the objective, but Rexor and his team could end up cut down. It looks to me like they are content to leave us here, so they will finish him off and then come looking for what’s left of our force.”
Roxana nodded in agreement and lifted her carbine to check the state of her ammunition. She was already down to less than a half, and the enemy had not even started their main assault yet.
“Alright, here’s what we will do. I will stay with the long-range weapons and help defend the turret. Xenophon, Glaucon, Tamara and Jack, you will climb back down and work your way behind their team. Do not assault their positions unless you have the advantage, but try and catch them in a crossfire. If you can break them up, it will give Rexor a chance to break out to the tower.”
Glaucon and Xenophon nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing on the plan. They were already moving to the steps when Roxana grabbed Xenophon’s arm.
“Grab the ammunition from the ones downstairs, you’ll need it.”
He smiled and then disappeared out of view.
The small group moved down the tower and did their best to keep in the shadows. Glaucon was the only one of them carrying a heavy weapon, so he stayed further back, constantly on the look out for enemy movement. At the bottom, they found the semi-conscious bodies of the enemy, still panting from a mixture of exhaustion and probably the drugs they had been induced with. It took seconds to strip the magazines from their weapons, and they were on their way. The sounds of the main battle were coming directly ahead, and it sounded terrible. A mixture of gunfire, shouting and the crump and flashbang grenades rumbled through the streets. They made it to the damaged outer wall of a ruined home and stopped. Jack kept low and glanced through the gaping hole in the walls and out into the street. He watched for a few seconds before slipping back.
“There are dozens of them, looks like a melee.”
Xenophon pointed to the right but said nothing. They moved around the building and picked their way past the wrecked vehicles until they were in a position right behind where the red team should actually be. A number of cracks and explosions made them drop to the floor. They came from behind, but it was impossible to tell whether the reds had made it into the tower, of if they were simply engaged in a major firefight.
“There!” called out Glaucon.
Behind an upturned truck were about twenty member of the red team. They were behind cover and pouring fire into a similar number of blues who had been caught out in the open. Most of the rounds were bouncing from their body shields, but every now and then a shot made it through. As Xenophon and his own team took up position, a powerful blast from a plasma cannon hit the centre of Rexor’s formation. The gas charge put half a dozen fighters on the ground and disrupted their formation, making them even more vulnerable to attack. Xenophon double-checked his Asgeirr-Carbine and pulled Glaucon down to his level.
“On my command, you hit the centre of the line with everything you have. The rest of us will move out and hit them at close range. Understood?”
He nodded in agreement. Tamara and Jack were both armed with carbines and stood waiting.
“Ready?” asked Xenophon, and they nodded instantly. He turned back to Glaucon, “When you’re ready!”
He lifted his heavy weapon and rested it on the damaged wall. From their position, they had a perfect view of the rear of the red team. Glaucon aimed the weapon carefully and fired all his rounds, one after the other. He only had four left, but the effect of all four was devastating. He dropped the weapon and chased after the other three who were already charging at the team. Jack and Tamara blazed away with their carbines while Xenophon fired single shots from his own weapons. They only brought down a small number of the enemy, but the effect of being hit at close-range from behind shattered their formation.
“Get back!” shouted Tamara. A dummy round barely missed the two of them as Jack and Tamara took cover behind a metal container. More rounds clattered against it, but for now they were safe. While the gunfight continued, Xenophon rushed in, his bloodlust up. At close range, he was able to use his two Laconian weapons to perfection. His first bursts of fire cleared a path through their position, and then he was amongst them. Ducking and leaning, he avoided their clumsy attempt to shoot him while he stabbed and fired at close range.
Glaucon moved as quickly as he could, but he was forced to slow down as targets of opportunity arrived. A small group of four of the enemy had taken refuge behind a wall and were putting down considerable gunfire. Glaucon fired twice and dropped low to avoid their fire. He kept shooting, as well as moving closer to them, and could see Xenophon jumping about in the middle of the group. He seemed to be causing more confusion than casualties, but that was fine, disruption worked in their favour. He moved to the left to try and work around the group, but his left leg gave way.
“Great!” he cried in irritation, as he stumbled and collapsed to the ground. One of their projectiles had struck him above the knee and put him out of the fight. He tried to watch the rest of the training scenario, but the drug on the round started to kick in, and his vision quickly blurred.
Glaucon might be down, but there were now less than a dozen of the red team remaining. Only the handful that had turned on Glaucon were left, and they stood to try and run, only to be cut down by the renewed weapons fire from Rexor’s own advancing position. It was a devastating crossfire from all involved, and as the gunfire stopped, Xenophon found himself in the middle of the defeated red team’s position. Rexor moved out from the centre of his unit to look at Xenophon and Glaucon, both of whom were dripping in sweat. He was about to speak when a single remaining red team member lifted herself up and aimed her plasma cannon directly at Rexor. The expression on his face showed that he knew his time was up. Two flashes from the container further away was the only signal that Tamara and Jack were still in position. Their carefully aimed shots hit the woman in the back and knocked her to the ground.
“Not bad,” he said with a forced smile.
A loud siren filled the arena, and the lights on the training weapons switched off. Large flood lamps flashed on, and for a few seconds all of those involved felt almost blinded by the bright lights. From above, a round platform of perhaps ten metres in diameter was lowered. It took almost twenty seconds to reach to the ground. In the middle stood an Arcadian senior officer plus an entourage of warriors, each dressed in full combat attire. A group of medics and technicians stepped down from the platform to tend to those that had fallen and to administer the drugs to allow them to stand.
A small group of the blue team appeared from the left as the survivors of the tower, led by Roxana, emerged from their cover. They were covered in dust, but the look of satisfaction showed they had won a good victory.
“Excellent work. You will be pleased to note that all of you have passed and are deemed of satisfactory standard to serve with our ad-hoc combat units. Most of you have shown you have the gumption to serve with our heavy infantry, please join the Komes here. He will give you your postings and information on your service aboard the Olympia.”
The recruits started to move but were halted by the commander.
“I want each of you to stay, please,” he said pointing at Xenophon, Roxana, Tamara and Jack. He then pointed to the prone shape of Glaucon on the ground.
“Him as well. Give him a hand up.”
Rexor glanced at them and nodded as he left. He didn’t seem particularly disheartened to be leaving. He was presumably off to join the others with the heavy infantry. Xenophon watched him walk away and wondered what that would mean for him. The commander waited until most of the others had left before inviting them over to meet an officer. This man looked even dourer than the rest of the Arcadian soldiers they had met.
“This is Komes Pasion, leader of my scout force. I think you would be ideally suited to serving with him.”
He turned and moved back to the platform without even waiting to see what they had to say. The Komes looked serious, with not even a hint of humour or compassion about him.
“My force is a picked unit of three hundred fighters, but we are down on numbers. We travel light and are expected to conduct all manner of missions from recon through to raiding and assault. You need to be able to fight with rifles, carbines and close quarter weapons. You’ve shown initiative, independence and improvisation. These are the three key criteria for being in my unit. Return to the changing area and collect your belongings. You will get your orders from the Dekarchos, he already has your information.”
He paused and then smiled, or at least that was what it looked like to Xenophon. It could equally have been a grimace.
“Welcome to the Night Blades.”
The small group looked at each other in surprise. The officer walked away to leave them in the middle of the training arena.
“Night Blades? Is that a good thing?” asked Jack.
Roxana nodded while Xenophon tried to support the dead weight of Glaucon. He looked unconscious, but Roxana seemed unconcerned at his state.
“Well, we will earn more credits, but there is a greater risk. They are the elite unit on this ship, so we’ve struck gold here,” she said with a very surprised look.
Scout Ship Odysseus, Cilician Gates
Kentarchos Anaxandros watched the distortion with interest. The Cilician Gates were one of the most famous parts of space, and he never tired of watching the strange optical effects in this region. This particular triple star system was one of the richest and most densely populated planetary formations known to mankind. With over thirty planets, it was the perfect supply, engineering and construction site for hundreds of light years. As kentarchos of his vessel, it was his job to keep the Armada notified of local traffic, celestial phenomena and any other issues that might arise prior to their arrival. It wasn’t the first warship he had commanded, but it was his first operation as a mercenary officer. His new rank of kentarchos was an odd one. In his home, in the Arcadian military, he had been a captain with a well-proven track record. Since forced retirement, he had hit hard times. The opportunity to spend time earning substantial rewards with the mercenaries, under Clearchus, was an offer he could not refuse. That still did not help him getting his head around the use of the archaic ranks used by the Laconians.