The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (100 page)

“Let’s go.”

At Flint’s words they all turned and headed in to the jungle. They had a long road ahead and friends who eagerly waited for them.

It took them ten days to reach the base camp.

As they approached they gave the signal they were agreed on. Zi and Fly came out to greet them.

“Well who finally decided to show up?”

“It’s good to see u to sunshine.”

Fly smiled and embraced Flint’s hand. A moment later Rabbit joined them.

“We expected you in a day or two.”

Johnson smiled.

“No escort so we could move faster. And who knows maybe it’s because of the healing treatment. Those nanites of theirs would sure come in handy.”

Fly smiled.

“In your dreams Jay you still look ugly as sin.”

Johnson made a grimace.

He turned and looked at Sanders.

“Look who’s talking Tony. I think he must be dreaming.”

“He sure does.”

“Zi help me out here.”

“You eat what you sew Fly.”

“Chicken!!!”

They all laughed at the exchange.

“They are waiting for u in the camp.”

Flint nodded to Rabbit and then moved up. Johnson and Sanders followed.

Ten minutes later they saw the cave.

They already knew that they are observed. They smiled. It was expected. It meant that their friends haven’t lost their edge.

As they entered the cave they were met by Sheppard, Atkins and Kelley.

They shook hands with smiles on their faces.

“It’s good to see you again Eric.”

“Good to be here James.”

Sanders and Sheppard walked away quietly. The others watched them go and didn’t say anything. Just as Sheppard was close to Roberts Sanders was close to Rhodes.

Kelley showed them the seats around the fire.

They all sat down.

Kelley noticed Flint looking around.

“Ellis left eight day ago. We are splitting teams. We have a new mission and smaller teams are better.”

Flint nodded.

“They told us about what Rivers proposed back in Ksamona. I guessed that this was coming. They also told me to inform you that they already started producing ammunition and weapons like ours. That I believe will help mask our presence.”

Kelley nodded. It was a good thing to hear. He and everyone else feared that they might be discovered through their weapons. Now that worry was gone.

He noticed that the others were smiling as well.

“So how long will you need to get ready to move?”

Johnson and Flint exchanged views.

“As far as we are concerned we could move out right now. Their technology in medicine is way ahead of ours. They mentioned that they are running low on nanites but what they had healed us totally. Hell we even lost some of our scars.”

Kelley nodded.

“That is good to hear. Now that we are back like we use to work on Earth you get your old post back. I need my old XO.”

Flint nodded.

Then he turned to where Sheppard and Sanders were talking.

“Who do you think Sheppard will choose now that Roberts is gone?”

Atkins looked at them and smiled.

“Sanders used to be Rhodes XO in the old team. I think that he will just change his commander.”

Flint just nodded.

“He is a good soldier. They will get along well.”

Kelley nodded.

“Do you have any reports about the front, about the Ksamona line?”

Flint shook his head.

“Nothing before we left. But they were expecting the attack any day then. My guess is that it has already started. That was ten days ago.”

Kelley nodded.

As Sheppard and Sanders joined them he pulled out a map.

Flint noticed that several positions were already marked. They had the signs of Alpha and of Elis’s team.

“We move out at first light tomorrow. We all know our new mission and our areas of control.”

He pointed to the marked locations on the map. All locations overlapped. And all were behind enemy lines. It was a huge territory, a territory they all knew well. It was a jungle that was their friend. It was a jungle that would hide them from their enemies and give them a chance to strike without warning. And they all knew that there would be many rebel forces small teams that will do the same they do. Strike and sting the enemy forces, hurt them a little in a lot of places at once. Draw blood and retreat. It was an old strategy and a strategy that proved it self time and again in the past.

A strategy they were masters of.

The dacarians were in big trouble and they didn’t even know that.

As the fire lit their faces they all smiled a predatory smile.

“We have several months until the fleet arrives and by god will give them a world in flame. A world filled with the dead bodies of legionaries.”

They all nodded at Kelley’s words.

They spoke for a little while and then they retreated for the night. They had a long day ahead.

The next morning they all quietly said their goodbyes and moved out. The cave that served as their base camp stayed behind.

Far away Epsilon and Theta left their base camps behind as well. The SF forces had a new mission. They were going to do what they did best, irregular war, terror on the enemy, guerilla tactics, using everything as their weapon.

The SF teams were all going to war.

The attack on the Ksamona line started just two days after the three humans left the fortress.

It started with the largest bombardment this world had seen since the days of the war. The line and the bunkers were blasted for four continuous days. Many died but they held. Where shields failed the trenches and bunkers were destroyed.

Salazar watched the commanders of his small force. He commanded thousands more men just day before. But then the new order came. He saw the new plan and he agreed to it. It was a good plan. It was a plan that gave them hope for a brighter future. But it was also a plan that crippled his defense. He could have held for months if he had all of his men. Now all he could hope was delay the inevitable. He could hold longer but only if he and the men he commanded would fight to the end.

And he could see on their faces that they all knew.

He had just twelve thousand men under his command, twelve thousand men protecting hundreds of thousands that were moving towards the fortress behind him.

“We all know what is coming. And we know that we have no chance of stopping them.”

Aroga the Acadian commander looked at him.

“Weee willl allll diee buttt theyyy willll drownnn in theirrr blood beforeee thatttt momenttt commanderrrr.”

He nodded and the others did as well.

“Then we are agreed. We fight to the last men.”

He looked at one of the human commanders.

“Valorous I want you and your unit to serve as a reserve. I know that you are the hardest and best equipped unit we have. That is why I want you as a reserve. I want you to move out here”- he indicated a place on the map outside of the line up front in the marshes a region that would allow no approach-“I want you to sit tight and wait for my command. And when I give it I want you to strike hard, I want you to obliterate everything in your path.”

Valorous nodded.

“Marius I want your men to hold the first line. And you have to hold. Do you understand me? You have to hold. Zabora is coming to join us with three thousand more men. And we have units moving behind the bastards. You have to hold until they are all in position. Then we will strike. And strike hard. And with a little luck we will destroy all the forces arranged against us. And even if we don’t we’ll still cripple them and slow them down. We’ll buy our forces the time they need to make that fortress behind us impenetrable.”

They all nodded.

He raised his glass in a salute. They all did.

“Let’s drink in honor of all those that will fight on, in the memory of all who died and the bright future that lies ahead for our children to see.”

After this they all moved out slowly.

He followed them out. They were all young. They were not the best fighters he had but they were all he had. He knew that he was sending them to their deaths but they went without remorse or questions.

As he watched the humans moving out he wondered about their mysterious new friends. He remembered the small group of humans that passed these lines several weeks before. They didn’t seem special. But he read the same reports they all did, he spoke with the survivors. And he remembered the way they walked. He remembered the experienced eyes as they scanned the scene. They were professional soldiers. He wondered what they thought about his men. He trusted them and was proud of the way he trained them. He was an unorthodox commander, with new ideas, ideas he used the best way he could as he trained these units.

All he did was prepare them for this moment. He just hoped that he trained them right.

Ahura Sac watched the enemy defense line stretching before him. He had five divisions moving forward. Four were from his own one was a dacarian legion.

Six additional divisions that just arrived were in reserve. Two more legions were with them, and one more legion was to join him as soon as it gathered its spread out forces. He knew that two more legions were striking on the other side. He was making the main push but if the plan worked as it should those legions would make the decisive push in the enemy rear. The plan was for him to tie the main enemy forces, forces that were more than prepared from what he could see. It was strange to see so many and so well equipped forces so long after the planet was conquered. He knew from the reports that some enemy forces survived the invasion and hid but what he saw proved that they did more then just hide. They prepared well for this day.

He could see the gaps in the defense line made by the constant bombardment. He knew that his men will use them. And he also knew that he will have to pay the butcher bill in order to take that line. Not even orbital bombardment could destroy those bunkers. They had to take them the old fashion way.

He nodded to his second in command to give the signal.

Molok Sac just nodded. A moment later he spoke in his com link and the attack started.

Sixty five thousand Argara and ten thousand legionaries, their armor attacked the line.

Marius looked at the avalanche coming towards his line.

He knew that he had the most inexperienced men under his command. It was a crazy plan. He had three and a half thousand men. Thirty five hundred men holding a ten mile front against twenty times their number.

It was crazy. It was a suicide. But it was all they had.

“Wait for the order to fire. Let them come close. Let them enter the mine field.”

His message got through. He knew that he could trust his platoon and unit commanders.

As he saw that the dacarians and the Argara were deep in the mine field he gave the order. A moment later the field before him erupted.

Thousands of enemies died in just a moment and many more were wounded. They still kept on coming.

“So this is it.”- He whispered quietly. He took out a photograph of his family and looked at it. His wife and child were on it. He kissed the picture and returned it in his pocket.

“Open fire.”

The reaction was immediate. The soldiers under his command, humans, illians, sicarians, macassi, Acadians… they were all young but they were good.

As they opened up so did the artillery they had left. Explosions rocked the front lines of the enemy. It slowed them down but it didn’t stop them. They just rolled over their dead and kept on coming returning fire.

Soon the casualties in the units under his command started mounting.

He could hear the screams of the wounded.

He noticed that the second battalion fire was slacking.

“Silas report.”

He didn’t get an answer and he repeated the request. A moment later a young man he didn’t know reported.

“Sir Captain Kato is dead, so are Silas and Moral. Sir I’m in charge of the unit.”

It took him a moment to remember the name of the young officer.

“Varo calm down. Your battalion’s fire is reducing. I need you to take command of the troops you have left and take it now. I need you to stop the Argara division coming your way. Stop them cold, is that understood?”

“Yes sir.”

He turned and looked at Isko.

“I want you to take your platoon and go over there. Help that boy keep his men calm. We have to hold this line.”

The young boy smiled.

“Will do sir, they will hold even if I have to kick them all the way to the end. They will hold.”

Isko left a moment later.