Guard at the Gates of Hell (Gladius Book 1)

by George Olney

  Legion Commander Garua was fascinating to Shana. She was the first Gladius woman she'd ever seen in person and reminded her of pics she'd seen of Legion Commander Corona, the last commander of the Victrix. That alone gave her kind of a mystic aura. Then there was the fact that the Commander was a woman born into a life she had only recently adopted herself. There were also physical differences between herself and a real female Gladius. Real? Get a hold of yourself, Shana. You are a real female Gladius. You're just a bit different than the others.

  Physical differences also interested Shyranne. Oh, Legionnaire Ettranty's uniform was immaculate, and worn with precise exactness, but you could tell indefinable little things that said she was still becoming accustomed to it. Ettranty was taller than the norm, more slender, and wore her softly waved brown hair cut just at neck level with a flip under at the end. Shyranne enjoyed the luxurious length of her own straight pale hair, but Ettranty couldn't manage hair that length, not and look regulation.

  Shyranne snorted mentally. Here she was, getting an excellent background brief on Cauldwell and she was judging another woman, a junior Legionnaire at that, by her hair style. Go back to being a Commander, Shyranne. You can be a woman later.

  When Legionnaire Ettranty finished, Shyranne nodded, "Good brief, Legionnaire. Hold yourself ready in the outer office. I need to speak to you."

  She could see the Legionnaire swallow a gulp, and knew what she was thinking. What now? The only possible reply, "Aye."

  Once Shana was gone, Shyranne leaned forward over the conference table and spoke to Athan. "Karl, you and your command group got the message about Tactine. We're trying, along with Lane Mackinnie, to save this cluster from the crash as the Empire goes down. I'm reasonably conversant with what you have in mind here and I think we can integrate both plans without too much change. I want to think it over some, but I'm beginning to get the basics of a real strategic scheme. We'll discuss it privately and begin to put some flesh on it."

  Athan nodded. "I and my senior commanders have been gaming some ideas. Now that you're here, Commander, I think we can really get something going. It's nice to know we aren't alone. It gives me hope for the future."

  "We'll talk about that future over dinner tonight, Karl," Shyranne said easily, "then finalize things tomorrow. I think I'll be able to get you some more help, too.

  She sat up straight. "Now that I know what's happening here, I need to take care of some other business. If you gentlemen will excuse me, I need to meet with Legionnaire Ettranty."

  Amid a few casual comments, the meeting broke up. As Sergeant Major Olmeg heaved himself out of his chair, he gave Shyranne a piercing scowl. She smiled back at him with real humor. She knew what he was saying. She was a Legion Commander, but she wasn't his Legion Commander. Don't mess with his troops! Her smile was broader as she said, "Aye, Sergeant Major."

  A snort was his only answer as he left.

  Out in the outer office, Shana was sitting very erect and nervous in a chair, waiting. She had no reason to be nervous, she kept telling herself. She was an educated, sophisticated woman, a major success in a highly competitive planetary media. In her old life, a call from her would make someone like the Commander nervous, not the other way around. So why was she acting like a schoolgirl caught in the act?

  One of the troopers on clerk duty looked over at her and asked, "How'd it go in there?"

  "Well enough, mate," she replied. "For some reason the Valeria Commander wants to speak to me alone. So here I sit."

  "Better you than me, mate," he replied then busied himself in his work as the conference room door opened.

  As the Sergeant Major stumped by, he glared at Shana and waved a hand vaguely at the door. "Go report, Legionnaire."

  "Aye." Shana was up and standing to attention in the open doorway in less time than it took to think about it. She raised her hand gave the customary two raps on the door frame, the door being open at the time.

  "Come."

  Shyranne had turned her chair away from the table so it faced the door. Shana paced forward steadily until she was about two measures away then came to attention. "Legion Commander, Legionnaire Second Class Ettranty reports."

  Shyranne pointed at a nearby chair. "Go close the door then sit down, Legionnaire. I want to talk to you."

  As she touched the door switch Shana's mind was consumed with a question as old as the military, what the shit have I done now?

  Once Shana was seated, the Commander looked at her calmly, her pale eyes taking in every detail. Shana once again had that feeling she had in her first days with the legion, the feeling that she was being studied inside and out.

  For her part, Shyranne was thinking about the young woman in front of her, someone totally alien to the Corps, except for two key attributes: the willingness to become a Gladius and the ability to do it. Those were very rare outside the Corps. Toss in her background in the highest levels of Cauldwell society. Then add the minor fact her father was one of their bigger problems, a problem that had to be had to be solved, one way or another. Legionnaire Ettranty had come a long way, and had another, far more bitter, road to travel. But not yet. No, not yet.

  "Do you feel alone, Legionnaire?"

  The soft question caught Shana by surprise. It also surprised her how much she wanted to hear another female voice. "No, Commander."

  Shyranne smiled softly. "You can say what you are really feeling, Legionnaire Second Class Ettranty. I won't get upset and I won't bite you if you tell the truth.

  "Besides," she continued with a quick grin, "Sergeant Major Olmeg would have my hide if I did bite you, and I have a deep respect - read fear - of any Legion Sergeant Major."

  Olmeg? He was looking out for her? For whatever reason he was doing it - and Shana had her suspicions - it was comforting. She let out a deep mental breath and relaxed slightly. She didn't realize it but her old sophisticated powerful self was long gone in her mind, replaced by a junior Legionnaire. Still... Shana looked down for a moment, then back up at the Commander. "I miss having another woman around, but I'm not lonely, Commander. The men missed not having women around, too. In a way, they were the lonely ones until I joined the Legion. I feel like they care about me, because I'm a woman - and because I'm a Gladius, now. That means a lot to me, too.

  "And..."

  Shyranne gave her a warm smile. "Go ahead. And what?"

  Shana was a little uncertain of what she was going to say. Then she decided the Commander would understand. She was a female Gladius. Shana took a deep breath and jumped in. "And I know I'm not alone. I feel them. I feel all the other women that were part of the legion. Those Now Gone. When things are quiet, I can feel them and they are with me. Supporting me. I feel like they are part of me." She paused for a second, trying to put into words what was just a feeling. "...Am I making sense?"

  Shyranne leaned back and pinched her chin between thumb and forefinger, looking at the trooper in the seat in front of her, a Gladius despite her physical appearance. The big question settled. "Yes, Legionnaire, I understand fully. You are a Gladius. Whatever has happened to you before this, I want you to understand you will one day walk through hell because you have joined the Corps. Sooner or later, we all do. But when you walk, you will not walk alone. No Gladius does. Ever. Welcome to the Corps, may the Lord Above bless and keep you."

  Shana felt tears starting, but fought them down. She was a female Gladius. She wasn't going to cry. The Commander could have told her differently. "I've been welcomed, Commander," she said, "by Those Now Gone and by the Victrix, but thanks for that. More than you know."

  Shana looked the Commander steadily in the eye. Her chin jutted forward and she didn't know that was the unconscious gesture of a Gladius ready to do battle. It was something she'd absorbed, like much else, in her training and association with the Corps. She was ready to do battle, but her battle was moral, not physical. "I have a duty to the Victrix, and I intend to do it."

  Shyranne knew what the Legionnaire
was feeling, and she noted the expression. Good. Now on to something else. "Legionnaire Ettranty, you are not going to be the sole female in the Victrix for very long. I'm transferring the personnel from a devastated legion, the Rhiannonithi, to the Victrix. They total thirteen men, one hundred and ninety women, and two hundred and seventy five children. That's all that's left. Learn those numbers, and the numbers of the Victrix. Any female Gladius can quote strength figures in her sleep. I'm also transferring female personnel from my own legion, the Valeria. Major Camille Paten will be the senior female officer, but she will be subordinate to the Legate, and I'm approving Colonel Athan's field promotion to Legate as well as Commander of the Victrix. Both are extraordinary circumstances, but necessary in this mess in which we find ourselves. I've also decided something else about you."

  Shana held her breath again. What was the Commander about to do? Even if the Commander gave her an order, she wasn't about to leave her legion. Not even for a little while.

  Shyranne continued in the same calm, soft voice. "You need a great deal more training than you are getting, or will get from the Victrix as it's now constituted, Legionnaire. You are going to get it." Shyranne gave another small smile. "Men do a good job training us for combat, but our real training has to come from a woman. You'll begin training once the transferred personnel are settled. Wait until you meet your first female decurion, Legionnaire. That's an experience right up there with your first drill sergeant. Trust me on that one. I once sat where you are sitting."

  Shyranne sat up straighter. "In any case, I'm satisfied with this interview. I'm sure you recognize that I was looking for more than just answers. I like what I found. Once the Victrix has been reinforced and the reinforcements fully integrated, it will be conducting an Officer Candidate School. You will be in that class. I expect you to excel. You may go."

  Shyranne stifled a smile as Ettranty snapped to attention in a daze, saluted, did an about face by reflex alone, and managed not to hit the door frame on the way out. The shock of finding out she was going to officer school appeared to hit her hard. Right between the eyes.

  Shyranne looked at the young woman leave, smiling a bit more broadly now that Legionnaire Ettranty couldn't see her. She remembered her own Commander telling her once in the long ago that she was going to OCS. Legionnaire Ettranty was older than most of her peers, more educated and very sophisticated. She'd make a good junior officer. The rest would take care of itself in the Lord Above's good time. Shyranne was now certain of that.

  LEGIO XV RHIANNONITHI

  NIAD

  On Niad, the Fifteenth Legion, Rhiannonithi, was having a formation. Orders had arrived, and everyone was worried. Camille took her position facing the tiny remnant of her once formidable legion. There weren't many out there, Camille thought to herself as she faced her little command. But they still had their pride and their duty. Oh, yes, she thought, remembering a dead Kayelen destroyer and citizens saved, the Rhiannonithi could still perform their duty.

  "Attention to orders," she said. "The following orders have been received from Commander, Tenth Legion Valeria."

  She took out a printout and began reading the key passages. "Fifteenth Legion, Rhiannonithi, will stand ready to embark to Cauldwell on order. Once on Cauldwell, the following personnel will be transferred to Ninth Legion, Victrix, exact assignment of transferred personnel to be determined by Legate, Ninth Legion, and acting Commander, Fifteenth Legion. Transferred personnel are as follows..."

  The survivors in the formation held their breath. Without the remainder of the Corps to replenish their personnel, they knew there was realistically no way they could hope to keep the Rhiannonithi in existence, but it hurt. How it hurt. The Rhiannonithi was their millennia old tradition, their family, the bedrock of their lives. Transferring to another legion wasn't bad. It happened. What hurt was the dissolution of the Rhiannonithi.

  Every Gladius at parade rest in the small formation listened carefully as the names were read, noting their own as it was spoken, and dreading as Camille got further down the alphabetical list. By tradition, the men were read first, then the women, then the children that would accompany their mothers or a guardian.

  Then Camille stopped reading. The list of children wasn't complete. There were two names missing.

  Camille spoke again. "The following personnel will be attached to the Ninth Legion, but retain original unit of assignment." She read the names of the youngest boy and the youngest girl among the children, babies really. Suddenly, there was a feeling of relief. By keeping the youngest male and the youngest female as part of the Rhiannonithi, it still existed. The Sunburst and the surviving brushara would be reverently stored, kept in trust until the day they could come forth again, because the Rhiannonithi was still alive, waiting until the day that it could be built back to strength. The Rhiannonithi wasn't dead because it still had members, members raised to keep a trust and over a thousand years of memory intact.

  The former members of the Fifteenth Legion, Rhiannonithi, were content. All but two of their number were going to a new Legion and a new life. Those two would remain, keeping the Rhiannonithi alive. The former members of the Fifteenth Legion, Rhiannonithi, were very content.

  LEGIO IX VICTRIX

  CAULDWELL

  The group wandering among the ships in the Cavern was composed entirely of Fleet officers. It was led by Lieutenant Albert Kavasos, defacto commander of Fleet personnel here on Cauldwell. "Commander," he said, waving his hand at a light cruiser in front of them, "there are two of these here. Given that there are ten more depots like this on Cauldwell, I'm guessing at least twenty two overall."

  Claude already knew about the number of the depots, and that Cauldwell's real reason for existence was as an Imperial refuge. Ship strength like this was only to be expected. Still, as a former Imperial Intelligence officer and someone that was once part of the Court, the implications of that refuge were very interesting. "Have you checked any of the other depots?"

  Kavasos shook his head. "Only scanned. Getting into this one was chancy and complicated enough while they weren't looking for us. They've been turning over every rock since we vanished and there's no sense in taking any more chances."

  Claude nodded. Then Kavasos motioned him around the side of the cruiser. "There's something back here that you need to see. Ensign Ellis here found it first. Ensign? You tell him."

  "It's a new class, Lieutenant Commander," the Ensign said, then pointed. "Look."

  The ship the Ensign was pointing out was smaller than a normal destroyer, and sleeker, with strange lines. "That's a frigate!" Claude said in surprise. "It's supposed to be almost as powerful as a cruiser, faster, and a whole lot more maneuverable. But those things are only in prototype right now!"

  It was Kavasos's turn to be surprised. In answer to his look, Claude explained. "I was Imperial Intelligence in another life. I had access to military R&D. As part of the mission the Emperor assigned us, we kept a very close eye on naval officers and what they could do. The Emperor ordered this design suppressed because it gave a lower ranking naval officer too much power.

  "Apparently," he continued in a dry voice, "The Emperor had plans for the design he didn't tell us about."

  "I'm glad you know what it is," Kavasos said. "We sure as hell didn't until we found the technical library." The Ensign opened a panel on the ship's side, touched a sensor, and the personnel lock swung open with a boarding ramp extruding to the floor of the cavern. As they entered, Kavasos continued, "It has a crew of five - less than a corvette - cruiser size guns, and stuff we still aren't sure about. One other thing. This bird is fast. The usual Maximum Military Speed is 3500 lights, as I'm sure you know."

  Claude nodded with a bit of irritation. He was, after all, Fleet.

  Kavasos took a deep breath. "Well, Commander, tech data says this ship is rated for 4500 lights MMS."

  Claude winced. He wasn't exactly surprised. The documents he'd seen of the prototype had hinted as much. Having it so
baldly confirmed was still a little unnerving. This ship was very bad news.

  "Did you try to test anything?" he asked, looking around at a bridge that was a generation ahead of current design. Looking at the stations, he wasn't even sure what several of them were for.

  "My people are all ship's crew," Kavasos said. "We didn't want to trip any alarms by accident. In addition, the manuals imply the ship's AI is way ahead of current Fleet AIs. I'd rate this frigate every bit as capable in combat as a heavy cruiser, not to mention way faster, with a much higher acceleration in normal space. Frankly, that was scary. We had no intention of messing around with anything. Real investigation will take some of the technical support folks from your FSG, now that you're here."

  Claude nodded. Despite Corona's overly optimistic belief they could use the ships in the cache, the troop carrier they'd arrived on simply didn't have enough technical support, let alone crew, to operate them. The intelligence officer in him made him wonder where the support and crew would come from if the Emperor had to dive into the hole that Cauldwell represented and pull it in behind him. That was an important question, and it needed an answer.

  Shangnaman had a paranoid's mania for hiding things, best done in totally closed compartments. Corps Intelligence had found out about Cauldwell, but obviously, there were compartments that had yet to be discovered, let alone opened. He needed to talk about this with Legion Commander Garua. The FSG had found these frigates, but what else had Shangnaman hidden?