“We need to get out of here, sir,” Pentri Umbria stammered. “This is not a defensible position.”
“It’s not a position at all, Lance Corporal,” shot back the infantry officer. “Get 6th Squad up and moving.”
“Downhill, sir?” Umbria questioned.
There must be a name for the sound of a mountain dropping from the sky, thought the Centurion. It would need to be a short name as the sound didn’t last long. He pondered this as he wiped Lance Corporal Umbria’s blood from his face.
Pentri Umbria’s helmet, head, and one shoulder were under a large rock. Gray matter, pieces of forehead bone, and blood covered his face. Only one eye was visible, the other lost under the crushed skull.
“Sir. Are you injured?” asked Optio Gustavi.
The NCO stood over the Centurion holding out an arm. Megellus locked wrists with his Optio and pulled himself off the ground.
The birds of prey flapped their wings again and the oxybele bolts plucked three more Legionaries off the summit.
“Orders, sir,” inquired Gustavi.
“Tighten them up and move the maniple forward,” Megellus growled. Then the infantry officer looked to his right and called out. “Corporal Sisera. Pull them in, tighten this line, and get them moving.”
“Yes, sir,” Alerio shouted back. “Moving.”
***
The center of the 25th Century was devastated. 5th, 6th, and 7th Squads reduced to individual Legionaries wandering around in shock. They weren’t the only units to suffer from the tension and torsion weapons. All along the first maniple, some squads closed up to fill in positions left by lost comrades. Others folded under the pressure and ran downhill.
“Lance Corporal Frentani. Collect the strays and get them in line with the 8th,” Alerio ordered. Then to the end of his Century, he directed. “Lance Corporal Tescum. Pull that rookie Century in and give them guidance.”
Alerio roamed back and forth behind the line as the smallest man in the Century bullied and convinced strange squads to close in with the 10th. Their Optio had fallen on the second barrage and they almost broke and ran. Then Decanus Tescum walked their ranks and jumped up into each squad leader’s face with a challenge.
“Your body’s bigger than mine,” he defied the decani from the adjacent Century. “But my heart is twice the size. Run if you want, cowards. Or close the gap and join me in Hades.”
To Alerio’s surprise, while four of the squads broke and ran, the other six braced their shields and followed the little man’s directions.
“The longer we stand here the more the engineers have time to target us,” Alerio bellowed. “Shift left, move it, close it, and shield it.”
With the center filled, Centurion Megellus lifted an arm and just as he dropped it, he cried out, “Double time, march.”
The maniple began at eight hundred strong. When the Centurion of 25th Crassus ordered the run, only two hundred and ten Legionaries made the mad dash for the gates of Adrano. The rest were dead, injured, or had retreated down the hill and out of the rain of rocks, stones, and iron bolts.
***
Ruscus watched as groups of Legionaries picked their way down the slope.
“Is that it?” inquired the battle commander.
“Sir, I don’t know about that,” Istac corrected. “One of the skirmisher Centurions is signaling.”
The command staff watched as the Velites officer flashed hand signs. When the messaging ended, the Centurion gave one last sign.
“It appears two hundred plus Legionaries charged the gates,” Senior Centurion Edidi reported. “And the Centurion requests permission to advance his skirmishers.”
“He wants to add to the Adrano body count,” demanded Ruscus. “As it is, I am speculating how many men I will have to sacrifice to extract the ones at the gate?”
“I don’t know, sir. But it’s Centurion Megellus’ 25th Crassus leading the assault,” Edidi replied. “And they still have two battering rams with them.”
“What do you suggest I do?” asked the battle commander.
“Colonel, if I may make a suggestion,” Irrisus spoke up.
“Highly unusual, but please tell me, 1st Centurion.”
“Send up the second maniple,” Irrisus advised. “Because if you don’t, Megellus and the 25th Century will break down the gates and claim all the glory.”
“Why do you say that?” questioned Ruscus.
The 1st Centurion pointed to the lead rank of his 1st Century and swept his hand across a broad swath of land.
“Because I watched Legionaries from that Century die gruesomely on this slope all morning,” Irrisus explained. “And while Centuries with fewer casualties have retreated, not one, even slightly wounded Legionary from the 25th has voluntarily come off the field of battle.”
The Colonel closed the lid on his correspondence box, peered up at the top of the slope, then spit on the ground.
“Senior Tribune, forward the second maniple,” Ruscus instructed. “And stand by the third. We have a city to take.”
“Yes, sir,” Istac replied before sprinting to the knot of Tribunes.
“Irrisus, I’m going up to the kill zone. I can’t direct a Legion in combat from down here,” Ruscus stated. “I hope you’re ready to protect me.”
“Absolutely Colonel,” the 1st Centurion assured him. “Although you won’t see much from inside a one-hundred-man testudo, sir.”
Chapter 30 – Infectious Courage
Various thoughts invaded Alerio’s mind as he ran across the kill zone. Every time an archer or a slinger knocked a Legionary out of the run, he thanked the Goddess Bia for the strength of his body.
When boulders fell and crippled pairs of men, he offered a different prayer. This time to Fortūna for the luck of not having a huge rock fall on him from out of the sky.
But when the sinew and hair strings on the enormous crossbows twanged and stones or bolts knocked runners back and to the ground, his oath took on a more personal tone.
“Goddess Nenia. If it’s my time and my strings are to be cut, come for me quickly,” he prayed to his personal deity, the Goddess of Death.
Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw an arrow jutting from Optio Gustavi’s shoulder. The NCO staggered and would have fallen if not for the big arm of Lance Corporal Dircium. The two slowed a little and that worried Alerio.
Then an odd clarity came over him, and Alerio’s senses slowed. Suddenly, the enemy spearmen, archers, and slingers vanished. And the running Legionaries faded away leaving him an unobstructed view of the gates to Adrano.
Encased in a granite and brick framework, the three gates were taller and thinner than the defensive walls. So tall in fact, there were no soldiers above the gates. And for a half circle in front of the portals, the ground was bare of spent arrows, bolts, rocks, and stones. Artistically, the gate wall served to impress visitors. For an attacking Legion NCO, it impressed Alerio in a different way.
A giant bird of prey batted its wings next to Alerio’s ears and he came back to the battlefield. Beside him, a bolt pulverized a Legionary’s head. It shot through so quickly, the faceless body took two more steps before falling.
“Thank you for the vision Nenia,” Alerio exclaimed. Whether it was a combat veteran’s instinct or an actual gift from the Goddess, didn’t matter. Alerio had a plan on how to get into the city while protecting the Legionaries breaching the gates. “Crowd the center gate. Close in on the center of the gate wall.”
Somehow, Centurion Megellus ended up running beside him.
“Sisera. Is this for any reason other than getting good men killed?” the officer asked.
“We still have a battering ram,” Alerio replied. “And there is a blind spot in front of the center gate.”
“What does that mean?”
“We have a protected space. We can ram the gate unmolested.”
“Is this more of your, Legionaries are craftsmen?”
“Journeymen of war, sir.”
“No, you don’t,” Alerio shouted while hoisting the injured officer to his right shoulder. With the shield held up to defend Megellus, Corporal Sisera raced towards the gates bellowing. “No, he’s finally become a leader. Don’t do this.”
“What are you talking about, Corporal Sisera?” requested the weakened Centurion.
“Sorry, sir,” Alerio answered. “This is between her and me”
“Who?” Megellus asked before going limp on the Corporal’s shoulder.
***
The fleetest of foot made it through the arrows shot and spears thrown from on top of Adrano’s walls. Slower runners needed to dodge, duck, and depend on Fortūna’s luck. Those simply jogging across the kill zone required answers to heartfelt prayers. In all cases, whether injured or not, the Legionaries who reached the center gate discovered a sanctuary from the missiles.
“Tesserarius. Where do you want this?”
At the end of jogging across the zone, Alerio heard the question and looked up into the smiling face of 10th Squad’s right pivot. Glancing down, he noted the big man’s feet straddling the battering ram.
“We saved your log, Corporal Sisera,” Lance Corporal Tescum added from beside the pivot.
As near as Alerio could figure, there were almost two hundred Legionaries crowded against the gate wall. If veterans or experienced men from the second maniple, it would be a major force. But most of the faces, other than the survivors of the 25th Century, were young with fear in their eyes.
“Put a contubernium on it and knock on the door,” Alerio responded. “Let the soldiers of Adrano know, the Legion has come calling.”
Tescum and Palinurus bent down and grabbed the straps wrapped around the log.
“Not the 10th. I have a different job for you,” instructed Alerio. Peering around, he nodded to an unfamiliar Lance Corporal. “Decanus. Pick eight men, put them on the ram, and bust a hole in that gate.”
A scream from the outer edge of the cluster drew everyone’s attention. A bolt from one of the oxybeles had pinned a Legionary to the ground. As he lay squirming like a bug and his screams faded to sobs, those around the fringes pushed inward smashing the men on the inside up against the gate wall.
“Private Palinurus. I want you at the wall and Legionaries on either side of you,” Alerio ordered. “Lance Corporal Tescum. Put two more men on their shoulders, then you climb up. I want to know what’s waiting for us on the other side of the gate.”
It took Palinurus’ big hands to shove clear a circle. Once a space opened, members of the 10th Squad formed a human pyramid. During the shuffle, a couple of infantrymen lifted the unconscious Centurion Megellus from Alerio’s shoulder.
“We’ll take care of him, Tesserarius,” one assured him.
Then from the other side of the center door, the battering ram connected with the planks of the gate. Thrum! The wood rocked and the men on the ram guided it to the rear for another swing forward. Thrum!
“Tescum. What are we facing?”
From the stack of bodies, the squad leader looked away from the top of the gate door and reported, “There are a few gate minders. Most of their infantry is on the hill to the front. Archers and spearmen on steep hills on both sides.”
Thrum!
“Please tell me when we get through,” suggested Alerio. “that we can fight them off and open all three gates.”
“Corporal Sisera. Have you ever walked away from a fight?” the petite Lance Corporal asked.
Thrum!
“Not since just before I joined the infantry,” Alerio replied. He shoved his way into the tightly packed Legionaries calling out. “Optio Gustavi. Optio Gustavi, where are you?”
From behind a gaggle of men, the Sergeant’s voice answered, “Tesserarius Sisera. Back here.”
Thrum!
After shoving a pair of Legionaries aside, Alerio stuck his head through the gap. Gustavi sat next to the Centurion. Both men had broken off arrow shafts protruding from bandaged wounds.
“Optio. We are short of experience and very soon, it’s going to get intense.”
“That may be an understatement, Corporal Sisera,” the NCO stammered. Obviously, he was hurting and a bit groggy. “We die if we go back and die if we go forward. As you can see, I’m not much good to you.”
Thrum!
“You stay seated,” Alerio informed the Sergeant. “What I need is a song to inspire the rookies.”
“If I today?” asked the Optio.
“Perfect. Count to thirty and start the song,” Alerio requested.
Thrum! Crack!
“Make that to fifteen.”
***
As if swimming through mud, Alerio needed both arms to part the sea of tightly packed bodies while migrating towards the battering ram. As he progressed, he called to the surrounding infantrymen.
“When we go through, form five ranks in front of the gates,” he shouted. “Testudo formation.”
Thrum! Crack! Crack!
Near the center of the gate where the men were swinging the ram, he called up, “Lance Corporal Tescum. Any change?”
“They haven’t sent forward reinforcements for the gate guards.”
“That’s an opportunity,” Alerio assured the men around him.
Thrum! Crack! Crack! Crack!
A section of the gate fractured and a few infantrymen sang softly. Almost as if unsure if they should be singing.
If I today, if I today
Don’t enter the Fray
Optio Gustavi had started a tune from Legionary training. A song only advanced recruits were allowed to sing. Alerio smiled and joined in with them.
Fail to shoulder my shield and disobey
Duck my orders and pull away
The survivors of the inexperienced first maniple stood straighter and accompanying the full-throated rendition of the song, a light of pride and confidence returned to their eyes.
If I today
My comrades betray
Their funeral fires will blaze away
And I will be damned
For I am a Legion man
Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Today
The planks on the gate below the center locking bar cracked and light streamed through. A spearman jabbed an iron head into the gap and a Legionary with a powerful chop cut the shaft in half. Seeing the strength of the young Lance Corporal, Alerio stepped up behind him.
“Drop your javelins,” he directed. “Keep your gladius and stand by.”
“I don’t understand, Corporal,” he questioned.
“What’s your name Decanus?”
“Messoris. But what am I standing by for?”
The battering ram rocked back then shot forward splintering wood and vibrating the entire door.
If I today, if I today
See it my Optio’s way
Stab the javelin and bring on doomsday
Stomp the field where my enemy lay
“We’re going to assault the gate,” Alerio informed the Lance Corporal.
“I thought we already did that,” Messoris protested.
If I today
My orders obey
Barbarians hordes I will slay
And they will be damned
For I am a Legion man
Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Today
On the next collision between the log and the gate, the log won. A section of the wooden planks broke off and fell inward. Alerio shoved the Lance Corporal down, forward, and through the mini doorway. He followed directly behind the Legionary and the two emerged in the midst of the Adrano gate guards.
The sounds of the infantrymen singing on the other side of the gate were muffled.
If I today, if I today
Hear my Centurion say
Alerio bellowed as he swung his shield in front of Messor
is. The move cleared the soldiers’ spears allowing the young infantryman a moment to collect himself and set his own shield.
Ply your trade their attack is underway
Spinning away from the gate, Alerio slammed his shield into a guard while slashing down on another’s arm with the gladius.
Make our enemies wail and pray
If I today
A spear jabbed forward forcing Alerio to cock his head sideways. The move put him off balance and he stepped to the left to maintain his stance. That’s when four Adrano gate guards rushed him. Using the shield to cover up, he backpedaled until his back hit what he thought was the gate.
Stab away
To earn my Republic pay
A big, muscular arm dropped over his shoulder and a javelin tip slashed one of the guards. Then six Legionaries leaped forward driving the soldiers back and finally to the ground.
“Can’t let you have all the fun, Corporal Sisera,” Trax Dircium from 2nd Squad informed him.
And my foes be damned
For I am a Legion man
Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Today
With more Legionaries coming through the opening, the guards were soon lying dead in the street. That’s when the spearmen and the archers on the sides of the bowl-shaped area showered down their missiles.
“Testudo formation,” Alerio ordered. He rushed through the middle of the newly arrived infantrymen. After searching, he found four of his squad leaders. “Lance Corporals Enitui and Italus, get those gates open. Lance Corporals Frentani and Stulte, organize a defensives shield wall.”
In the distance and far down the hill beyond Adrano’s defensive walls, trumpets blared. The call signaled the advance of the second maniple. Alerio grabbed the Decanus of 2nd Squad and pulled him close.
“Lance Corporal Dircium. Come with me.”
“Where are we going?” asked the squad leader.
“I’m grabbing a contubernium and taking out the oxybeles and the lithobolois on the weapons platform to our left,” Alerio informed him. “You are going to do the same to the platform on the right.”
“What about their infantry, Corporal?”
“They can’t afford to break too many units away from their ranks or our infantry will chew them up when they arrive,” Alerio replied. “I’m counting on them staying mostly in formation. Even so, they may attack the gate or send units around and try to stop us on the walls. Anything they do takes their soldiers off the high ground. But I’m not worried about the Adrano infantry. I just don’t want another Legionary to die from those mounted weapons.”
Infinite Courage Page 22