The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (74 page)

“Thank…you.”

As he said the last words Demetrios exhaled his last breath. He died with a smile on his face knowing that after eons of waiting and hoping, their prayers, the ancient promise was finally answered and kept. The legend was true.

As he died Kelley saluted and then closed his eyes and placed the coin in his mouth.

“You are free my friend. May your gods grant you the happiness you deserve in the afterlife…”

After this he picked up his weapon and without a word went after his team.

He reached them ten minutes later. The first one to see him was Fly who was moving about half a mile behind the others covering their rear. He passed him without saying a word just nodding on the questioning look Fly had.

As the lieutenant went ahead, Fly said a silent prayer for the now dead human. Then he too started moving towards the group all the time watching for any signs of the enemy.

Ellis looked at Kelley as he reached them.

“Is it over?”

Kelley stopped.

“He is with his ancestors now.”

Ellis nodded. Then he pointed to the Illians moving ahead.

“They say there are tunnels ahead. They will lead us on the other side of the mountain. And they call themselves Illians.”

“It is good to know. We have to use those tunnels. There are probably patrols all around this valley.”

Ellis nodded. They started moving fast.

It took them an hour to reach the tunnels. As they went inside the three Illians waited and then activated the mechanism that locked the tunnel after all the humans entered hiding it from sight. As the tunnel closed the internal illumination activated. Without a word the three Illians moved in front and they all started moving gaining as much distance as they could from their pursuers.

In the valley behind them the fighting continued and a group of dacarians reached the place where Demetrios died, and as they saw him they wandered what brought the peace and smile on his face. None of them knew that he knew the secret, he knew that one of the ancient enemies of the dacarians is now back and that the dream of freedom was not a false hope.

Not anymore.

                                                 Chapter Eight

Arcadia

Otkart looked at the placement of his fellow legionaries. There were twenty one of them hidden among the trees and the bushes on the small rocky islands in the middle of the swamp. As they were deploying they heard explosions and firing in the distance.

He tried to establish communications several times but he got no response. He was astonished when his team was requested but as the report about the weapons used to kill the other legionaries arrived he knew that the commander of the pursuing unit made the right call. He and the rest of the legionaries were wearing specialized armoured suits. They were not as advanced as the versions of the emperor’s guard but they came close. They were practically impenetrable by projectile weapons and they could also resist the energy weapons.

He was satisfied with the way his teams were concealed. The islands were filled with trees that offered great protection with their huge trunks. They were not as big as the ones on dry land but they were still thick enough to offer great protection even against plasma weapons. The vegetation was also a big help.

He expected his prey to arrive soon and as he watched one of his snipers signalled that the slaves are approaching. He raised his own rifle and used the suits scope to see them.

He noticed a mixed group of humans, Illians and Lacarians coming forward. He counted fourteen of them. He expected a bigger number but he guessed that the others must have died in the fighting. He raised his hand giving the signal for his team to prepare.

      Arn and his group moved slowly. As they approached the islands they scanned for any sign of the platoons the humans thought would be here. The islands were not big. Several hundred square meters each. They were on both sides of the small path through the swamp. He could feel in his gut that the humans were right. There were hidden dacarians there. He indicated for his group to spread out and as they did he wondered where the other humans that saved his life were now. He knew that two of them are far back. The two snipers were probably scanning the islands as well from their hidden positions in the rear.

The other seven were somewhere ahead even now approaching the islands from two sides, two teams, one for each island.

Rivers slowly came out form the water and he didn’t need to look around to see the others coming out as well. They came out slowly with raised riffles moving towards the positions that hid the dacarians. They used the specialized quantum military suits for this mission, the ones that made them blend in reflecting the sunlight and practically made them invisible. It was a new technology first introduced around 2012 and perfected since then. By the time of the invasion it was already in the operation testing by the various special forces of the Unites States and Canada and Britain. The uniform allowed total camouflage for the soldiers wearing it. It was problematic to undress in the swamp but Rivers and the rest of the unit knew that their lives and the lives of everyone present and those that were coming on this world depended on them managing to escape their pursuers.

He moved slowly and Kelly and Luis took the flanks. They moved slowly practically making no noise as they came on the bank. The island was covered with trees and bushes that allowed for a small force to hide.  They spread out and carefully not making any noise moved between the huge trunks of the tries.

Anderson and his team did the same on the other island. Flint and Gordon moved to the right and Singer covered the left. As they moved Anderson noticed Singer giving the hand signal to stop and lay low. He was pointing to his right and as Anderson looked he noticed the armoured figures of two dacarians. The armour was black just as the uniforms they wore and it covered their entire bodies. It was obviously powered armour like the ones that many SF writers used in their stories. And that meant trouble. He signalled for his team to lay low and keyed his mike.

“Alpha we have powered armour. I say again we have powered armour.”

The answer came fast.

“Copy that Bravo we have the same. Only weak points are the joints and the visor. We stay low and call the pack. It will be their job to wake the hornets nest.”

Anderson thought for a second about the new plan. It was a reversal of the original which planed for a mutual action between them and the snipers. Now the snipers would start first and they would fire right after them using the confusion to remove the surviving dacarians.

“I suggest we use the heavy explosives Alpha. Our weapons might not be sufficient.”

His conformation came just a second later.

Doc and Jenkins already knew what they were facing. It made their mission a lot tougher. They were both well informed about the powered armour the dacarians were wearing and it was not information that they liked. They all had a chance to study the armour before the start of the mission. Hundreds of armour suits were found on the wrecks of the dacarian fleet that invaded Sol. The armour was strong and the only weak points were the joints, the neck and the visor. The other parts were practically impenetrable by projectile ammunition, even small calibre rail guns.

“Shit, like we needed this with our friends coming along.”

“We should warn them.”

Doc just nodded and a moment later he called the Illian soldier that seemed to be leading the ragtag group of refugees they had with them.

“Arn we have dacarians in powered armour upfront. Spread out and try to find some cover.”

A moment later the Illian answered.

“Our plasma weapons might be more effective than your weapons human. Fire at the visor and joints with your weapons, we will draw their fire.”

As he heard the last words he noticed the Illian signalling the other Illians and then speaking with the rest of the group. They were already spread out but as he watched Doc noticed them spreading out further and grouping, taking advantage of what ever cover the swamp offered. They moved like real soldiers but that didn’t surprise him considering that they were fighting against the Dacarians for god knew how long. The swamp had many fallen trees and many that were growing inside it. It reminded him of the jungles back on Earth especially the ones in South America.

He sighed and took aim.

“We have four snipers in that group Jen. Take them out first.”

His partner didn’t answer but there was no need to. They knew each other well and worked as a team. Moments later they both opened fire.

Otkart noticed the survivors spreading out and taking some cover. He smiled at that. It was obvious that they were suspecting something. He wasn’t surprised considering how many legionaries were lost hunting them. They were good. He was about to give the order to fire when he heard two poops were two of his snipers were positioned. A moment later he heard two more. Before he could react all four of his snipers fell from the branches that hid them with large holes in their visors.

“Snipers!!! Fire at them and move. Don’t give them easy targets.”

His legionaries obeyed him instantly and they opened a hail of fire as they started moving from cover to cover. Two of the Illians fell at once hit by several well placed shots that literally tore them apart. But the rest of the group managed to find some cover and returned fire almost immediately. The plasma weapons they used couldn’t penetrate the armour with one shot but four or five could and as he watched two legionaries fell with holes in their chest and another followed as one of the Lacarians blew a hole in his visor. And three more were killed from the hidden snipers that fired constantly obviously knowing where to shoot. But the battle was not one sided. Half the rebels were either dead or dying by now and four of his legionaries opened fire in the distance towards the positions of the snipers the enemy used. As they did the sniper fire stopped and he guessed that they are either dead or forced to move.

Hi cursed the situation he was in considering that he and his troops were stuck on the islands thanks to their armour. He called in the shuttles and he received conformation that they were on route. He smiled knowing that this battle will be over soon.   

As he did that he jerked as he felt several impacts on the joints of his shoulders. The pain hit him just a second later as he felt the bullets tearing his flesh. He noticed several more of the legionaries jerking. He turned but he still couldn’t see anything. He activated all the scans his suit had and he noticed three humans concealed and firing on his soldiers. Before he could say anything he felt several projectiles penetrating his visor and jerked back. By the time his body fell his head was already blown to pieces.

Doc heard Jenkins scream and a moment later curse as several plasma shots hit his position. Moments later he was forced to duck as several shots aimed at him as well. He immediately moved away towards his second spot. As he did he noticed Jenkins moving as well but he was clutching his left hand and from the bloodied uniform it was obvious that he was hit. Before he could ask Jenkins turned and smiled. His face was pale but it was obvious that he can still fight. He nodded and took his position. Moments later they both started firing again.

The other legionaries divided in to groups one maintaining constant fire on the rebels in the swamp the others rushing towards the humans in their rear.

Anderson noticed Singer taking first one then two more hits by the powerful plasma weapon of the legionaries. The first two hit him in the torso and it was obvious that the new Kevlar suits that had reflective armour plates in them managed to deflect the shots. But the third one hit him on the side and penetrated the already weakened armour. He was dead before he hit the ground. Anderson took aim and fired at the legionaries advancing towards them. He got one before he felt the impact as one of the legionaries hit him in the stomach. The Kevlar took the brunt of the force but he still gasped from the heat and the force. He fell on the ground and even in pain he fired again. This time his aim was right and he noticed the bullets hitting the visor of his enemy. The dacarian lurched back and then simply dropped. His rifle fell by his side.

Anderson took cover behind a tree and kept on firing. As he did he heard Gordon scream, and Flint cursing and throwing several grenades one after the other towards the advancing dacarians.

Gordon was pinned to a tree. It was amazing that he was still alive but it was obvious that he doesn’t have much time. He had holes in his stomach and chest and one in his right leg. As he noticed Anderson watching him he smiled weakly and nodded. Anderson nodded back and they both started firing again. The dacarian ranks were thin now with just three more survivors on this island. He just hopped that Rivers is doing better.             

Ugara noticed Otkart falling and as he watched his body he knew his commander is dead. He ordered his group of legionaries to rush the humans in their rear. They were using some kind of stealth uniform that absorbed the light and made them hard to spot but thanks to their weapons he and his men knew where to fire.