Ghost Legion

by Andreas Christensen

  "I don´t know," Ethan said, choosing his words. "I just want to be a regular foot soldier, I guess. I don´t like standing out..." Decurion Schwartz nodded.

  "I´ve noticed you´re not one for praise, but honestly Ethan, you stood out during basic. Your marksmanship was the best all over, you defended Jed when those assholes bullied him and when Jed..." he looked down. Jed´s suicide wasn´t something they talked about.

  The decurion looked at him again.

  "What about support weapons? You could be a sniper, you have the aptitude." Once more Ethan hesitated. He wasn´t sure about anything.

  "Light infantry is a good choice of course, that´s grunt work for you, if that´s what you want. I did speak to Ariel though — she might be interested in heavy infantry training. It´s hard, and only one in three make it through the course; most get booted right back to light infantry. I take it you haven´t seen the exoskeletons."

  "Exoskeletons, sir?" Ethan said. The decurion smiled.

  "Oh yes, the exoskeletons. Those are some pretty cool pieces of equipment. You know, I was trained as a heavy trooper myself and the exoskeletons are the most hardcore the Legion has. They can even take on cavalry and stand a good chance. And they have all kinds of heavy weaponry attached. I´ve even seen one with tactical nukes."

  "Sounds powerful," Ethan said.

  "Oh yes. Most of the time they carry cannons, rockets, machine guns and such though. With their armor, a heavy trooper in an exoskeleton can make a real difference. Turn the tide of battle, so to speak."

  "You think I would be a good fit?" Ethan asked.

  "Definitely. And you have a flexible mind, which is far more unusual than you´d think."

  Ethan thought about it. He wanted more than anything to stay with his friends, but if Ariel could also be a heavy trooper, that might not be a bad choice. Also, from what he´d gathered, heavy infantry were often attached to light infantry anyhow — entire units of heavy infantry were only rarely deployed. Decurion Schwartz leaned forward.

  "Tell you what, you and Ariel are the best suited for heavy infantry, as far as I´m concerned. You two stick together, and you stand a good chance, both of you." He stood up. "Well, I´m off. Have a good night and you can send me the form tomorrow. We start early, so don´t stay up too late."

  33.

  The powered harness made the .50 caliber personal weapon move easily and quickly, and Ethan swept his from side to side, following his vision, searching for signs of the enemy. The body armor attached to his combat suit weighed him down, but the powered carbon fiber enhancements inside the armor gave him more flexibility than he´d imagined. It felt no heavier than wearing ordinary fatigues with the old-fashioned tactical vest and equipment he´d worn during basic training. Inside his helmet, he heard the decurion issuing orders, telling them to stay alert and watch for signs of enemy activity. Inside his helmet, the left-hand visor screen feed showed the status of his squad, while his own readings, like oxygen level, pulse and ammo count showed on his right.

  He steadied his breath, misting in the freezing cold, focusing on locating the enemy. They had to be here, somewhere in the shadows up front. He switched his sights to semi- night vision. That let him have some of the advantages of night-vision goggles, but few of the disadvantages, such as vulnerability to laser weapons and light in general. Besides, it was useful in dusk conditions, like now. A yell to his left told him they had encountered the enemy. Quickly suppressed, he recognized the voice of Yevgeni, one of the new legionnaires.

  "Crap, I´m out," the burly European said. Most people mistook him for a Russian, and some asked why he was assigned to this unit instead of an eastern one. But Yevgeni was Ukrainian, from near where the Polish border had been. After the Unification, the western parts of Ukraine had been included in the European command, and eventually in the western hemisphere, unlike Eastern Ukraine, which had become part of the Russian and Chinese dominated eastern hemisphere. Today, most young people in the western hemisphere spoke English fluently, or as good as a native. Yevgeni was no exception.

  "Silence," he heard Decurion Schwartz´s voice whisper in his ear. The enemy hadn´t attacked in force yet, which probably meant they were waiting for them to spring the trap. But the decurion had warned that might be the case, so they were prepared. Ethan looked over at where Ariel and Malika were readying their machine cannon, hopefully out of sight from where the enemy hid. He smiled briefly, realizing he was bait. Soon they´d know if the enemy had taken it, or if they were in for a slaughter.

  "Got them," John´s voice said, and seconds later, a red dot appeared on his visor. The enemy.

  "On my mark," Decurion Schwartz answered.

  "Three, two, one, mark!"

  The machine cannon opened up. Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Tracers showed where John had located the enemy. Rapid fire, slower than a machine gun, but much heavier, the machine cannon would tear an enemy apart, even tear through light armor. The ground in front of them, about 600 meters off, tore up with earth spraying in every direction and explosions interspersed. Ariel and Malika must have added explosive rounds in the mix, Ethan thought.

  "Forward," the decurion shouted above the noise. He didn´t have to shout, of course, since the comms relayed his voice directly into the ear of all squad members, but Ethan guessed it was just one of those things, a habit formed from a lifetime of soldiering.

  Everyone leapt forward, alternately running and shooting, as smaller fire teams covered each other. The crisp snow muffled the sound of their advance somewhat, but only somewhat. Enemy fire soon began to concentrate on them instead of where the machine cannon was located, as they approached their positions. Running felt light, and they covered more ground using their powered suits than they would have been able to, even without all the heavy gear. Within just a few minutes they reached the enemy positions and began sweeping them clean. A few minutes later Ethan removed his helmet and looked around. The enemy was vanquished. Robots, easily and cheaply manufactured, lay in pieces, smoldering and shot to scrap metal. Ethan wondered how the tech wizzes had come up with a design that could put up such a fight, and yet were so easy to replace, that they could spend them as quickly as ammo in training.

  "Alright everyone," Decurion Schwartz said, "We lost a few, but we took their position, so mission accomplished. Good job everyone. Now, let´s get over to the boathouse". The boathouse wasn´t really a boathouse, but since it lay on the shore, that´s the name someone had given it. In reality, it was the garage where most of Camp Piteaa´s armored vehicles were parked and maintained.

  Once they reached the boathouse, the squad were divided into four teams. Optio Blake and Decurion Schwartz each took a team, while two more instructors took the others. Then they spent the rest of the day training to man and maintain armored personnel carriers. The only one on his team he knew from before was Malika, and several times he caught her looking at him. He looked back, smiling, but every time she averted her eyes. Frustrated, he put his mind on the tasks at hand, but he had difficulty concentrating. What was it about women, he thought.

  34.

  Another day, another test, another thing to learn. The days at Camp Piteaa went by quickly, and soon he realized they had spent a full month in this frozen wasteland. He had just completed another theoretical assignment, handing in his paper, and walked out to get some fresh air. The wind was quiet today and the sun was up. He closed his eyes and felt the warm rays on his face. The door opened behind him and he turned around. It was Malika.

  "Hey," she said.

  "Hey. How did it go?" he replied.

  "So-so, I guess. Looking forward to the next assignment?"

  "What´s that?"

  Malika grinned. He knew he should have checked the roster. She always seemed to know what was happening next, while he just took everything as it came.

  "Dropship training," she said.

  Finally, they were deemed ready. The dropships where the Legion´s preferred method of inserting troops into combat, or so
he´d heard from the more experienced legionnaires he´d encountered. The Ghost Legion were named for its sudden and unexpected appearance into any theatre of war, anywhere and that usually involved dropships. Those rocket powered flying armored personnel carriers that, to an enemy, would seem to drop out of the sky right in their midst, creating chaos and panic. The Legion had perfected their method of surprising the enemy and the Legion´s carriers were cloaked, so when the dropships descended, there was no warning.

  An hour later, they were geared up and practicing on decommissioned dropships. The next few days, they learned how to handle themselves in a dropship situation. Strapping in and maintaining combat readiness on descent, dropship deployment into combat and establishing bridgeheads. They practiced from early morning to late night with very little sleep and no free time. Ethan found himself so tired every night that he basically slept the moment his head hit the pillow. No time for idle chatter, making new friends or exploring what Decurion Schwartz kept suggesting about his options for specialized training.

  One night, just before lights out, the decurion came by their room and told Ethan and Ariel to follow him outside. Both were tired and Ariel yawned. Normally, that would have cost her at least twenty pushups, but tonight Decurion Schwartz merely smiled.

  "All right, kids, you´ll get to go to sleep in a minute. I just need a definite answer from both of you. Are you up for heavy infantry training, or will you continue on here?" he said.

  Ariel and Ethan looked at each other. Ethan was about to say something, that he´d rather stay on, that he preferred this kind of service, that he was content, but Ariel beat him to it.

  "Sir, I would love the opportunity. I believe Legionnaire Wang would like that as well," she said and turned toward Ethan. "Don´t you, Legionnaire Wang?" She gave him a look that said she wouldn´t take no for an answer. Ethan hesitated for a moment, before he realized he didn´t have a choice in the matter.

  "Sure. You´re right, of course, Legionnnaire Chambers. As always." The decurion looked like he was going to burst out laughing.

  "Good. I´m happy to hear it. Heavy infantry is the top of the line, the best of the best. Perhaps we´ll serve together one day." He then extended his hand and Ariel took it, then Ethan did the same.

  "You won´t have a problem getting accepted, not with my recommendation. Now, go get some sleep."

  35.

  The next day, Ariel and Ethan were held back by Optio Blake.

  "You two. Both of you are to report to the boathouse for further orders. Your light infantry training here is complete. Well done. Now, move it."

  They walked as quickly as they could to the boathouse, where a bus stood waiting outside. The driver urged them inside.

  "What about our stuff?" Ariel asked.

  "It will be collected and sent to your new quarters. Don´t worry, it´s not far." They entered the bus and found seats near the front. Ethan looked at the other passengers. Some were asleep, a couple were talking quietly among themselves and some were staring out the window. There were only a few people on the bus — nobody he recognized — and to his surprise, there were even a couple of civilians sitting near the back. He sat back and relaxed.

  "Might as well get a nap while we can," he said and closed his eyes. Ariel elbowed him.

  "Hey, what´s that for?" he said.

  "Don´t you want to know where they´re taking us?" she asked.

  "Not particularly, no. The driver said it´s not far and either way, we´ll learn soon enough. Sleep though, sleep is precious." He closed his eyes again and this time, Ariel let him be.

  Ethan slept until Ariel elbowed him again. He didn´t know how long it had been.

  "We´re here," Ariel said.

  "How long?"

  "Half an hour, and you were out the whole time."

  "Oh."

  "I think this is still a part of Camp Piteaa, but we´re much further inland now."

  The doors opened and a muscular black decurion stepped inside.

  "Alright, you whiny lightweights, get off this bus or I´ll kick your asses," he said, his voice a loud deep bass that filled the space. They quickly got out and lined up beside the bus. The decurion came to stand in front of them.

  "Welcome to heavy infantry training. Right now, I see a bunch of green newbies who think they are legionnaires. In the coming weeks, half of you will be booted right back to light infantry, or what we heavies like to call cannon fodder. The other half, those of you who excel, who pull your weight and more, those of you, I, and the rest of the instructors decide we would like to share a trench with, and that is a tough one, will become heavy infantry, the kind of troops that decide battles, the kind that win wars."

  They didn´t waste time. As soon as they had been assigned to bunks, with Ethan and Ariel sharing rooms again — everyone was lined up outside again. The black decurion waited, until everyone stood at attention.

  "I have to apologize —,- I was rude before — I didn´t introduce myself, I am Decurion Trudeau. I did, however, mean every word I said. Half of you will be kicked out, barring a miracle. And if you don´t do as I say, when I say it, I will kick your ass. This isn´t regular forces. Here in the Legion, we do things differently. Remember that." He looked around, as if waiting for someone to challenge him. When nobody did, he continued.

  "So, to give you all a fighting chance, we´ll build some muscle. If you are to become a heavy trooper, you need muscles, strong muscles. In an exoskeleton with a full load of guns and ammo, you´ll likely weight in at a ton or more. Sure, the machine will carry most of that weight, but what if that fails? What if your exo´s shot to pieces, and all you have is yourself, your weapon — which will be real heavy — loads of ammo and you have to lug it to a good shooting position or move forward to keep up with an attack? We need to strengthen your upper bodies. Your main load bearing muscles, such as your thighs, and to avoid injury we need to strengthen your back and stomach muscles. Follow me."

  They walked over to a gymnasium, where the decurion continued to set up individual training regimens for each and every one of them. Ariel had pretty strong thighs, so she was to focus on her upper body strength, while Ethan had to work on everything.

  "Legionnaires, I expect you all to put everything you´ve got into this. I will make sure you have time to train every day, and you make sure you eat well — lots of proteins and shit. I expect you to beef up well within the next month, so you stand a chance at becoming a heavy trooper. Right then, reveille is at 0600, sharp. Carry on."

  The decurion left, and the legionnaires all stood around, looking at each other. Ethan decided this was no time to get social.

  "You all heard the man. Let´s get to work."

  36.

  Decurion Trudeau, originally from what was once called Canada, in North America, was a tough teacher. He seemed to care for them, working real hard to give them a chance, although if someone mouthed off or didn´t carry out their orders, he´d beat the crap out of them. No mere pushups here. More than one legionnaire might turn up with a black eye or a split lip, but even so, once someone had been punished, the decurion treated them no different than the others. He was, Ethan thought, tough but fair.

  Heavy infantry training was more technical than what Ethan was used to. They had to know the ins and outs of their weapons — machine guns and machine cannons, rocket launchers, mortars. Proven designs, tested in battle over the years with some even from before the Lumin War. Then there were the new and exotic weapons, generally first assigned to the heavy troopers. Plasma guns and mini railguns were personal weapons that used new technology, mostly used in special operations. Then there were nuke cannons and miniature nuclear charges designed to take out armor or buildings without too large a blast radius, tactical weapons used in regular combat by heavy troopers supporting light infantry. Finally the larger tactical nukes, which were rocket propelled, and more rare, even among heavy infantry. These were used by Century sized units to take out larger enemy formations

&
nbsp; Once they knew their weaponry, they learned to use them, becoming familiar with their individual peculiarities. Ethan learned that mini railguns were more accurate after a couple of rounds then useless after fifteen to twenty, that plasma guns would last longer if fired in short blasts, that the barrels of machine cannons usually had to replaced after two-hundred rounds, but, with luck and careful fire discipline, could be extended to four-hundred rounds or more, that mortars were notoriously inaccurate after just a single round and had to be re-sighted every five to ten rounds, that you could keep firing round after round with a nuke cannon and that a tactical nuke might kill you if you tried to run away after firing, instead of taking cover, even after a single round.

  They were given time to follow individualized training regimens, one to two hours, every afternoon. Ethan found that he enjoyed the exercise and that it provided an opportunity to chat with the other legionnaires. He even got to know a few of them well, such as Will, an Irishman of mixed Irish and Spanish descent, Paula, a German weightlifter, turned soldier after her girlfriend was killed while on active duty in space and Daniel, a young Israeli who had been turned down by the regular forces because he had done time after stabbing a teacher who had attacked his Jewish heritage.

  "Whoever said boot camp was tough, should have had a one on one with Dec Trudeau," Ariel said one evening, while holding a damp cloth to Ethan´s cheek. Ethan had failed to answer quickly enough when asked about the exit velocity of a nuke cannon charge, even though he knew the answer. This resulted in a hard slap from the decurion´s hand. Ethan waved her careful hand away.

  "I´m fine, it was nothing. Just feels a bit sore, that´s all."

  "You´ll have a swelling tomorrow."

  "Well, so be it."