She signed to her group and shouted, “Our ride is here, lay down cover.”
They all began to back away from the air conditioners and kept firing at the roof entrance to keep the Petrovians inside the stairway. Suddenly, from behind, Alaya heard the unmistakable spinning of a Gatling gun and then the roof became stitched with bullets as the roof gravel was thrown into the air. Men and women on both sides of her began to fall and she shouted, “It’s not ours.” Just as a slug hit her back armor, which stopped the bullet from penetrating but could not prevent the kinetic force from breaking a few back ribs. She rolled onto her back and found herself looking up at a Petrovian hovercraft. Though she knew it was hopeless, her first instinct was to point her pistol at the hovercraft and pull the trigger. She was dazed but as her gun fired, there was an explosion in the hovercraft and it began to come apart in front of her. She looked at her pistol and the only thought going through her mind was ‘WOW’. Her senses came back quickly and she shielded her face from the falling debris as the hovercraft hit the side of the roof and broke off part of the building edge. As the Petrovian hovercraft fell, she saw a Romani gunship behind it. The gunship then fired another missile and destroyed the roof entrance and the top of the stairwell. The gunship hovered just over the roof and Romani marines dropped down and help Alaya and the other survivors into the ship. They then took off and headed for the resistance battle line. Alaya could see that other Romani gunships had arrived and were lending air support to the resistance. The Petrovians were beginning to give ground to regroup, since on this front they were in the open without air support. The resistance was behind makeshift barricades and had air support. By the time Alaya’s gunship landed, and the wounded were taken off, the Petrovians were mounting yet another attack on the resistance barricades. She also now saw that Romani marines were engaged with the resistance, bringing their numbers up a bit, but the Petrovians still held a numerical advantage. Rearming again became a problem for the Petrov force. They had to send runners all the way back to the command area for ammunition. This cost them time and they often had to break off an assault due to low ammunition. Under normal circumstances, they would have had the command and control area to rest and rearm, but that was gone and the resistance was using its rubble for barricades. Urban combat was as difficult as the old trench warfare of earth’s First World War.
Modern body armor kept deaths down but incapacitation from extremity wounds took many out of the combat. Attrition was affecting both sides by now, as well as the psychological effects of mounting casualties. The Balin forces were fighting for their homes, but the Petrovians were fighting to hold a planet their corporation had ordered them to conquer. The individual Petrov soldier had no stake in the outcome. He was just an employee of the corporation. Morale was becoming a factor for the Petrovians. The battle had now raged for several hours and it was getting hot under the jungle sun. New Wales was a hot planet and most of the inhabitants did not venture out of the air-conditioning during the midday. Two armies were fighting in the midday heat and it was taking its toll. The Romani method of rotating fighters, from the back to the front, allowed rest. The Petrovians were trying to conquer by numbers alone, and they had everyone doing something and no one resting. As a result, by the third hour of the conflict, the centurions of the first and second cohorts could see a change in the ardor of the troops facing them. Strict discipline and experience told them the time had come. The primary centurion of the first cohort, the combat commander of the legion, turned to the standard-bearer next to him. “Raise the standard,” he orders. The standard-bearer then raised a long rod with a cross piece at the top with the letters S.P.Q.N.R. The standard-bearer then pressed a button on the standard pole and an intensely bright, gold hologram of a flying eagle appeared above the letters. This was the signal for the legion to form a double row of cohorts in an oblong with the first cohort on the right and the second on the left of the front. The soldiers on the sides and the rear used their shields to protect the formation from side and back attacks. The cadence was now increased to a fever pitch and like a large, wide snake, the legion moved forward.
The sudden movement of the legion caught the Petrovians off guard. Romani gunships sudden flew from around the command ship to attack the Petrov forces on the flanks as the legion reformed. Once the legion was in its new formation, the command ship came over the city limits and added its fire to the others. Petrov hovercraft attempted to do damage to the Romani air wing but lost two ships to every one of the Romani. They finally were called back to protect the command general. As soon as the cadence increased, a shout rose from the legion and the Romani ran at the center barricade with sword drawn and shields forward. This was the final horror of combat to the Petrovians. As the Legion was about to engage it suddenly stopped and the enemy had no idea what to expect. The centurions shouted, ‘grenades’ and with that the second and third lines of Romani forming the front and flanks facing the Petrov forces threw fragmentation grenades into the enemy. As they exploded, they raised a mix of rubble dust and blood. Another shout came from the Romani and they moved forward and outward, stabbing at all Petrov forces in front of them. Corporate armies were trained to fight with automatic weapons from a distance. They all knew they would face close quarters on ships when boarding took place, but they did not expect this in a city where there were no walls to protect your flanks. With the buildings down, there was no place to hide and the vicious attack of the Romani with swords caught them completely off guard. Their resolve vanished and the Petrov lines began to disintegrate, first slowly and then ever faster until it turned into a rout. All resistance collapsed and the Petrovians ran to their command platform, where their remaining general stood. The expression on her face told it all. General Golov turned to her communications tech and said, “Send a message on an open channel telling the enemy, we surrender. Do it now before we lose more people.”
On the Romani command ship, the communications tech turned to the Legatus, “Legatus, they are surrendering and ask for terms.”
A slight smile appeared on Victoria Edmonton’s face. For this, she had trained her entire life. “Stop the cadence. Send them our terms.” These had been decided upon before the battle started.
As soon as the cadence stopped, the Romani immediately broke off their attack and stood where they were at attention, shields up in case of treachery. The same happened with the marines and they told the resistance to stop fighting. The Petrovians had also been informed through their communicators that the battle was over and many of them dropped with exhaustion. Now the superior training of the Romani was evident to all, they were covered in blood, sweat and dirt from combat, but they stood in the sun, at attention, as if on parade.
General Golov turned to her adjutant and said, “Whoever these Romani are, they must be machines.”
“General, their terms are coming in. We are to lay down our arms and disarm our forces. They will help us treat our wounded and bury our dead in whatever fashion our customs dictate. We will be held as prisoners of war, and returned to our people as soon as the present hostilities are resolved. If we pledge not to take up arms while on New Wales, we will be supplied with all we need and be able to interact with merchants here as long as the populous agrees.”
“What about execution of enemy officers or at least internment?”
“There is nothing about that in the terms, General.”
“Very well, we shall see what they do. Send acceptance of the terms and tell them we are awaiting further orders.”
“Yes sir.”
A moment later, the tech turned to General Golov, “Sir, the enemy general would like to invite you to dine with her this evening to discuss any other needs we may have.”
General Golov looked at her command crew, “Who are these people? They gave good terms to Admiral Perminov and now they are cordial, almost inviting to us. Send my thanks and acceptance.”
Golov was not prepared to deal with the Romani. They did not act l
ike corporate lackeys, which she knew she was, though she tried to tell herself otherwise. However, these people functioned on a different scale. Just the way they fought, was proof alone they had a different playbook.
As the afternoon progressed, the Petrovians laid down their arms, started to clean up their dead, and wounded. Romani medical personnel came to the aid of both sides and field hospitals were set up. The Romani brought down a field camp large enough to hold the entire legion with a surrounding wall and antiaircraft towers at the four corners. In the center of the camp, the Legatus set up her command structure. From there four streets radiated to the center of the four walls and ended in gates set into the walls. From the streets smaller roads fanned out and between these, the cohorts were housed in strong, metal structures with all the amenities of home and air conditioning.
With the battle over, the Romani began patrolling the city to make sure all Petrov resistance was at an end. The civilians started to come out of their shelters to see what was left of their city. The Romani had taken great pains to do as little damage as necessary and planned to help in the reconstruction. Only the main administrative building and some of the surrounding buildings were destroyed or damaged. In the south, there were several buildings destroyed by Romani bombardment. The rest of the city was untouched and Penllyn was a large city. The Petrovians were given several plazas to set up field camps and these were kept under guard by rotation of the cohorts and some marines. In time, the resistance took over this job, with the admonition that these were prisoners of the Romani and they expected them to be treated well. To make sure a small contingent of marines would be kept on planet until the war was over.
In the administrative center, there was jubilation when the word came that the Petrovians had surrendered. Alaya was still in the field medical unit when word came of the surrender and she remembered feeling relieved that she would not have to go back to the barricade and fight on. Her broken ribs hurt and she was bruised all over. The shrapnel was removed from the back of her knee, but it throbbed like there was a little drummer doing the cadence on it. Her marine snipers had come to respect her leadership and each of them came to check on her. For the first time in her life, she felt appreciated as a person and a leader, not just a scout to be sent out and expected to bring glory to the corporation. She felt she was part of something much grander. Since the battle was over, the medics gave her something for the pain and she fell asleep. She woke up with someone holding her hand. Alaya opened her eyes and saw her husband sitting next to her cot with her hand in his. She gave him a smile and Slone’s heart melted. She could see the love for her in his eyes. Her grand scheme for getting revenge on her father was important to her, but she would give it up, if at any time it threatened what she had with Christopher.
As soon as Slone heard his wife was wounded, the Legatus sent him to her. The battle was over and there was nothing more for him to learn. The Consul was going to join the Legatus and the enemy general for dinner, so there was really no reason to keep Slone from being at his wife’s side. Lorenzo was very fond of the Slones and they were worthy of all the trust the Romani could place in them. Despite the danger Alaya would be in, fighting with the marines and the resistance, Christopher never once attempted to keep his wife from her mission.
Lorenzo was in his quarters on the Longinus when the com unit signaled a message. He pushed the respond button and said, “Report.”
“Consul, the Legatus sends her respects and reports the enemy general is on her way to dinner.”
“Send a thank you to her and prepare my shuttle.”
“Yes, Consul.”
Lorenzo closed the channel and put on his dress uniform as a military consul. Since he was in overall command of the space and ground forces, it was not appropriate under Romani tradition to wear civilian garb. His military uniform consisted of a black body suit with purple armor and helmet. A gold eagle, with spread wings, was affixed to the top of the helmet. On his hip, he carried a short sword with gold handle and a pistol. On the right and left sides of the collar of the body suit were gold letters spelling COS II, identifying him as second consul of the republic. Since this would be a formal dinner, he also put on a purple cloak. Dark purple was the signification of civilian rank in Nova Romae. The higher your political rank in the republic, the more purple you wore. Lorenzo went to the hangar to his shuttle. The Lictors were already awaiting him. It was time to impress the Petrov Corp. The consular shuttle left the Longinus and descended to the legionary camp.
Night was falling on New Wales. There were grieving families among the resistance. Of the 600 fighters who went out to defend their homeland, 163 would not be coming home. Another 217 were suffering wounds ranging from minor to life threatening. To the Romani they were heroes for being the only ones who were willing to fight. Tavia dropped by the medical tent as soon as she heard Alaya was wounded. She had spent the battle with her uncle on the barricades and suffered a minor wound of the left arm. She would wear that scar with pride. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, she was more Romani then Balin now. As she was talking about the battle with the Slones, Decanus Marshal came into the tent to see how the Slones were doing and to speak with Tavia.
“Tavia, I have some information for you.”
“Yes Decanus,” Tavia said, falling right into the command structure Marcus had taught her.
“Marcus was severely wounded in the battle. He was brave even by Romani standards and held part of the line when those around him were falling. By the time we were able to get more troops forward, he was down. I’m afraid he died in the medical tent.”
Alaya and Chris could see Tavia fighting back tears. They knew she had a teenage crush on the young legionary and now that crush was shattered. The Decanus continued, “Marcus came to us as an orphan, like you. I think that is why he took you under his wing for training. He told me he looked upon you as a younger sister. Since he has no family, he asked two things of me before he died. One was to ask if you would honor him at the remembrance of the dead ceremony back on Nova Romae by presenting his ashes.”
Tavia was told of this ceremony, but she had never seen it. If it was Marcus’ wish that she present his ashes, she would do so and mourn him the rest of her life. “I will,” was all she could say between choking back tears.
“The second request of me was to recognize you as his only heir, since he had no one.” With this he gave Tavia Marcus’ sword, cleaned and polished and in its sheath. Tavia knew Marcus spent a lot of time maintaining his sword. It was one of his few possessions. The Decanus continued, “Marcus was very frugal with his pay and never succumbed to some of the bad habits of soldiers. He saved his money and bought a house in the country surrounding Roma. This, along with its contents, now also belongs to you. When we get back to Nova Romae, I will show you where it is located and make sure it is written over to you. If something should happen to me, Marcus registered his will with the Consular authorities, so it will be carried out.”
The Slones and Tavia were amazed that Marcus thought so highly of Tavia, despite her young age, as to leave her such a gift. This was too much for Tavia and she finally broke down in tears, and no one held it against her. This was overwhelming and guaranteed that she was now a Romani. Yet she many times over the next few months told the Slones she would give it all back if only Marcus was still alive. When her uncle came in to check on Alaya, he saw his niece crying and asked the reason. He was just as dumbfounded by developments as the others were. Alaya was discharged in the evening after the battle and they returned to the Longinus aboard one of the marine shuttles moving supplies and casualties back and forth to the planet. They returned to Slone’s quarters and got some much need rest, with Alaya nursing her various injuries.
Back on the planet, Petrovian General Alisa Golov prepared to have dinner with the Romani general. She learned from Romani troops, helping with their wounded and keeping guard on her troops, that the enemy general was called a Legatus and the general was a
woman. If she had to be defeated, she was secretly glad it had been by a woman. The battle had been costly for both sides. Out of her force of three brigades, or 15,000 troops, her side had suffered just over 2,000 casualties, 954 of which were dead and the rest wounded. She found out from the Romani, who were, surprisingly forthcoming, that they had fielded 6,000 troops and another 500 marines. Of these, there were about 700 among the infantry of which over 600 were dead along with 27 marines killed and 24 wounded. The fact that most of the casualties were dead indicates that the Romani continued to fight even when wounded and did not give up until they were dead. This is valuable information, since corporate soldiers don’t do more than they feel necessary to earn their salaries. These people seem to be fighting for a cause.
Golov decided to wear her best dress uniform, which she had along with her to wear when she accepted the surrender of the enemy general. Ironic she would be wearing it for her formal surrender. She also tied the ceremonial sword to her sash. She would present this as a mark of capitulation in the time honored custom of earth armies. Alisa was prepared to suffer her fate and never see her homeland again. During the corporate wars of a century and half ago, all defeated generals were executed by the victors as a warning. She knew no other way. As she dressed, she wondered if things would have been different, had the enemy not taken out command and control. They knew what they were doing. With General Fedin gone, all controls were off that pompous ass Volkov and unified command was doomed. Well they were all dead now and it fell to Alisa Golov to reap the consequences. At the appointed time, a Romani marine transport arrived to take the general to dinner. These transports were unarmed and used for ship to ship and space to planet transports. As the doors opened, Romani marines came out and formed on either side of the entrance. Golov walked to the door and was surprised that the enemy saluted her very smartly as she entered. The marines then moved into the shuttle, closed the doors and they took off. As General Golov looked out the window, she could see the destruction at the south entrance of the city. The Romani and her own people worked together to retrieve the dead and wounded and tear down the barricades that prevented free movement. The Romani prevented any retaliation against the Petrovians by Balin citizens. She had to admit, this was the strangest enemy she had ever faced. She knew the Romani were considered pirates, but no pirates she ever came across could do what they did. She was aware their fleet destroyed the protective force above the planet. She also knew they were expecting the eventual arrival of the full Petrovian fleet. What she found most fascinating is these Romani discussed the future arrival of the Petrov Corporation’s main fleet as if it was just coming to visit. If they had any concerns about a coming conflict, they hid it well.
Nova Romae (The Adventures of Christopher Slone Book 2) Page 20