“And Luis has a wound to his abdomen but he says he will live. The hit missed any major organs and the heat cauterized the wound.”
Rivers nodded and rose. He still felt shaky and had a nasty head ache but he knew that he had worse.
He slowly moved towards the bag that held Singer.
When he came to it he unzipped it and looked at the face of his friend and fellow seal.
His face looked calm showing a bit surprise. He must have been surprised when the last shot, the one that killed him, hit him.
He said a silent prayer and then rose.
“We need to bury him.”
As he said those words the others rose and came close.
“Yes we need to cap he always said that he would like to be buried under a tall tree. He had a place back on Earth in his home town but I guess he will have to settle for here. I’ll go and find a spot.”
The comment came from Luis and no one said anything to him as he slowly walked away. The others lifted the body and followed him. As they moved the Illians and the others made way and watched them.
To them this small group of strangely dressed humans was something new and as the rumor about them being from Earth started to spread they all watched them with amazement and wondered if finally the legends would come true. They all heard the word Terra and Alterans from the humans that joined their ranks from the Lacarians, the Sicarians and even from the Ksand who mentioned the ancient battles between the humans and the dacarians.
They found a spot next to a small stream about half a mile from the swamp. It was a small clearing inside the jungle several meters wide.
Six of them started digging while Luis made a cross from two sticks. They placed the bag inside the grave and as they did several Illians, the Sicarian and the two surviving humans Mago and Isco joined them.
“You were a good friend Sing and I think that each of us owes you his life at least several times. You always wanted to have a death that means something and this is one of those times bro. I will sure miss you.
There are no promises in this life, nothing is certain…he will not know the hardship that lie before us that are left behind…that was your favorite line. Goodbye my friend.
God we commit this body and this soul with a glad heart, and we ask that you accept it in your loving embrace. Amen.”
As Luis finished his speech, the others buried the body.
Moral watched the humans as they buried their dead friend. He couldn’t understand their speech but it was obvious that they were saying a prayer for him. He knew that the Alterans retreated to their home world the world they called Terra and he was surer with every passing moment that these humans were their descendants but he was confused by their technology. Their weapons while effective were primitive far behind any technology that the Alterans possessed.
He wondered what could have caused that regression but at the same time he was amazed by their courage. Even with these weapons they had no fear of the dacarians and from what he already saw they were more then a match for them.
He continued watching them as they buried their soldier and went back to the bank of the swamp.
Arn and Acura entered the small underground bunker that contained the command post for this division. As they entered the bunker they both noticed Ngoan talking with the commander.
General Muskar was a few cycles older than Arn. He was the son of one of the members of the leading council and he owed his position to that but he was also a capable commander who proved himself in the past both as an officer and as a leader. He had several successful raids on enemy camps and bases in his record. He was also daring and extremely good at managing a mobile defense and that is why he was in charge of this forward position of the Ksamona defensive line. He had three divisions under his command each settled in a separate camp but connected through underground tunnels and in constant communication. They were covering a vast front and also had the support of several villages and sietches placed behind them and in the mountains. The sietches were small towns harboring a small protective garrison. They were created by incorporating several mountain villages and were placed inside four large caves in the Goruskats Mountains. In total he had under his command about forty three thousand soldiers most of them Illians but also a large number of humans, Acadians, Lacarians and members of several more races but he also had more then a hundred thousand civilians that he knew would soon have to retreat or be forced to fight with the advancing dacarian legions. He knew that they will fight after so much time fighting the enemy everyone even the small children were warriors especially the ones living here.
They were descendants of the mountain people that in the past when the invasion forces of the empire attacked this world actually hurt the dacarian troops so much that they gave up fighting them and let them be. They were actually the backbone around which the rebel army was built as they accepted the large number of refugees that fled in to the inhospitable jungles while the planetary army fought a fighting retreat and sacrificed it self to give the civilians a chance to survive. From the large army that protected this world nearly forty five million soldiers only about fifty thousand managed to survive. They joined with the ones that were ordered to protect the civilians as they retreated and together with the segregated people created the resistance and the small community that still protected the Illian way of life. They were all that was left from the civilization that controlled ten planetary systems and had more than hundred billion people living in it.
But they had the disadvantage that they never actually achieved faster than light travel and traveled between the stars using wormholes and colony ships that moved from star to star for years at the speed of light. Their home world was twenty light years distant and Arcadia was the furthest star they reached. When their race reached this world they met what survivors where left from the genetic illness that struck the Ksand Civilization. The once mighty race had left its mark on several other worlds the Illians settled but when they were struck with the plague and with their civilization in decline they retreated to their home world. When the colony ships of the Illians arrived they were met by only about three million survivors that welcomed them on their world and even shared some of their technology with them. At the time Arcadia became the most guarded and most prosperous world of the Illian Republic. It was even the world on which the breakthrough, the first faster than light ship was created with the help of the Ksand but that was all too late. According to the information’s that they had the dacarians intercepted a fleet of colony ships on their way to the world the Illians called Ohirna a planet about forty three light years distant from Illian, their home world. They captured the convoy and soon after that attacked the worlds of the republic. Before they even knew most of the colonies were captured by the Dacarians and just two cycles after the start of the war Illia came under attack. The Home world fought back and the fight was long. At the same time the other colonies strengthened their defenses knowing that their home can’t last long. Considering the already placed system defenses of Arcadia especially the planetary defense batteries that protected the world Arcadia was chosen as the bastion of the defense. Its population was increased and most of the system was fortified and also the two known warp points were well guarded as well as powerful fortresses that were placed on the outer limit where ships coming from hyper space would come out. But in the end the dacarians found a back door and even though they faced a strong, practically impenetrable defense they proved to be willing to sacrifice large number of ships to take this system that by that time was the last remaining system of the Illian Republic. There were rumors that Aihas the primary military system of the republic which was the home of its largest shipyards and was as heavily defended as the home world and Arcadia still held out at the time and there was always hope that some new colony remained hidden but they were just dreams of an already conquered people. And as the defenses of the planetary system were breached and the planet was conquered, and the large
number of slaves was brought the Illians understood the real power of their enemy and the size of their empire. Now after long time only the hope of the Alterans and their descendants remained as the best hope or a dream that might come true one day. There was a hope that someday the Dacarians would meet with a civilization that will be able to stop them and drive them back but as more and more races fell that hope was smaller with every passing cycle. And now as the news of the humans from Terra reached the camp, as the slaves and Illians they managed to save spoke of the way they fought with the dacarians that hope rose again. No one said anything but the presence of humans even though they used, what seemed to be primitive weapons, spoke that the Dacarians finally ran on someone who didn’t fear to invade them and fight them, their ancient enemy, their equal.
As they entered Muskar and Ngoan lifted their heads from the map they were studding.
It was a map showing the placement of the forward divisions of the Illian resistance on this continent and the placement of the Dacarian legions. Besides the army under Muskar’s control they showed two more divisions on the other side of the continent that were also under danger from advancing enemy troops. It was obvious that the Dacarians launched a full invasion this time. From the look on the map the invasion was planet wide and all the other camps all hidden in the deepest jungles on the other continents were also being attacked. Only the smallest The Rugako camp was still safe but that was not surprising considering the small detachment the Dacarians had on that continent and the inhospitality of the prehistoric jungle there. And as it seemed it might be the only remaining camp when this invasion ended.
They both saluted.
Muskar saluted back and as Ngoan noticed them he smiled. They knew each other and were friends.
“Glad to see you made it Arn.”
Arn tensed as the general spoke. He sounded tired but that was not surprising considering the situation they were in and the enemy attack.
“Thank you sir…I’m sorry that I couldn’t bring more men out…”
“No need for u to apologize Arn I know what you faced. Ngoan here had more luck but from other refugees that are passing my forward units I know the situation on the front. The entire enemy force is involved in this. It seems that the Governor brought even more legions to this world. At least five legions are confirmed in this attack and there are speculations that even a sixth is involved. That as you well know is almost the full force of the legions stationed on this world. We all knew that we were living on borrowed time and it seems that our time is up.”
“What is the situation with Omansa sir? General Angora was leading a fighting retreat in that direction.”
The grim face of the general told him the answer.
“Omansa has fallen. I have no information about it not as much as I’d like to know but it seems that they attacked from both directions and even used kinetic bombardment and overwhelming air strikes to destroy our units there. I don’t think that many managed to survive. Several small detachments managed to break through but not many in total just several thousand and that is both soldiers and civilians from your regions managed to reach here. And I expect that in the next day or two we will be under attack as well.”
Arn looked at the map. He could notice the placement of the troops and the enemy movements. It was obvious that they are advancing on all fronts and that they will be in contact with the leading elements of the forces under Muskar soon. And considering how much territory he had to cover it was hard to believe that he would manage to stop them. And behind him all that remained was the Ksamona line. It was the most fortified and heavily defended but it was also the last line of defense before Ksamona it self. This was a fight to the death.
As he thought that he remembered the humans.
“Sir you know who helped us and who came with us.”
The general looked at him
“You mean the small group of humans that came with you?”
“Yes.”
The general exhaled and walked out of the bunker. Ngoan, Arn and Acura went after him. Outside groups of Illians, Acadians, Mag, humans were moving around heading towards their positions preparing for the battle that was coming.
The general looked at them. Arn caught him looking at a small band of humans that were heading forward. As the general watched them Arn noticed the admiration in his eyes.
And he knew from where it comes.
“They are brave sir.”
“Yes Arn, but not just that. They are special Arn.”
“Why do you say that sir?”
“I don’t mean it in a sense that they are better or that their value is bigger then ours but just look at them. We all hate the Dacarians, we all fight them but none has the passion that the humans have. They have no fear. They never give up, no matter what they face.”
“Yes sir when we attacked the camp several days ago you should have seen them. They had no weapons but as soon as we fired they attacked the legionaries with their bare hands. And many of them died but even more escaped. Many died but they all said that they die free. That is their only wish, that and the wish to kill the bastards.”
They all turned to Acura. The general smiled as the young scout spoke.
“Yes you’re right. You know the Ksand say that once the galaxy trembled when the Dacarians and the Alterans”- he pointed towards the humans -” the humans fought. According to the Ksand and the records they have it was a war unlike any other. And they fought several.”
Acura just nodded. They all knew the story even though just the high ranking Illians knew the whole history of that deciding war, a war that allowed the dacarians to carve their empire and rise as a galactic power. In a way it was a conflict that condemned every other race that since that day fought against the Dacarians. They were all paying the price of the ancient betrayal of races that were now long gone. It was hard to believe that just one decision, one moment condemned hundreds maybe thousands of races to slavery and extinction. The dacarians were conquerors and it was obvious that they will never stop. They lived for war. And the problem was that they were excellent at waging it. They were merciless, had no fear and stopped at nothing to achieve victory, but they were also cunning and extremely smart. They learned from their mistakes, took what ever they needed from the races they conquered and learned from the technology and adapted the technology they could use or reverse engineered what they needed and what they could use. Not just military but also plenty of other technologies.
“And now if these humans represent what we all hope they do then soon this war will erupt once again.”
He turned towards Acura and Arn.
“Are you sure that they are not some humans that escaped the camps and work alone. You know we had some groups that did that in the past.”
Before Arn could say anything Acura answered.
“There is no doubt sir. The way they fight, the reaction of the praetorian when they rescued my group, the weapons they use. They are trained for insertion and it is obvious that they were gathering information about the dacarians and their placements on this world. And I don’t think they are alone. There are others out there sir.”
The general turned towards the humans and thought for a second.
Then he turned towards them again.
“The council and the Elders must learn of this and they must speak with these humans. Ngoan you will take them through our lines to Ksamona.”
Ngoan tensed. The young Illian knew the honor he was given. It rarely happened that someone as junior as him and as young met the council and spoke to the elders. The council was a body that governed the Illians and the Elders. It was a body consisting of members of several races and of the Ksand. They were the ones that would be most interested about the latest development.
“I would be honored sir.”
“Good. Take several men for protection and go. You have to move fast to avoid the enemy troops. I’m sure that once they start the attack they will land units in our re
ar. You mustn’t be caught by them.”
“Yes sir. I thank you for this honor.”
“You deserve it my friend.”
Ngoan saluted and went towards his own men. He moved fast and his movement showed the hints of excitement.
As he walked away the general and the two soldiers watched him go.
“And you are young child. If anyone deserves to live through this, that’s you and the others like you.”
The others nodded at his words. None of them was that old but they were all far older than Ngoan. Their eyes showed their experience. And they knew that the hope of these advanced units living through what was coming is small, almost none existent.
Some would survive but not many. The civilians, those that were too old or too young to fight, the females, all were already ordered to retreat towards Ksamona in to the safety of the ancient stronghold. Only those capable of fighting were staying behind.
As Ngoan and the men he chose went to pick up the humans and take them further down the line the general dismissed Arn and Acura and went to his bunker to plan how to conduct the defense. Acura and Arn went to their own units the ones that were moving forward.
The seven surviving Seals were gathered around two Illians that joined Luis and Flint and saw to the injuries that Gordon had. He was still unconscious and had fever. From what both Flint and Luis said he needed a surgery and he needed it in the next couple of days if he was to live. The two medics and the Illians did all they could but he was in need of a medical centers and even then it would be a small miracle if he was going to live.
Flint was most concerned with the wound to his chest. From the way Gordon was breathing it was clear that he had injured lung and also the wound to his stomach was bad. The only thing that saved him was that the heat of the plasma cauterized his wounds. But he would need a major surgery and a long rest if he was to live.
The Illians were saying something about medical facilities back in their main base and Rivers hopped that that would be their next destination.
The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) Page 57