The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (79 page)

Dagomar walked slowly following his scouts towards the body. As he passed the bodies of the killed forward party he cursed the gods for their stupidity. It was more then obvious that they were ambushed. And considering that no one from the second advance team was reporting he suspected that they met the same fate.

As he noticed the body he stopped.

The legionary was lying on his back wearing his armor and helmet. He noticed the peaceful look on his face. It was obvious that he went to his death with honor. The kerasa was between his arms placed in the scabbard. He noticed the blood on the handle and he knew that it was the weapon that was used for the ritual.

He looked at the legionary in front of him.

“What is this legionary’s name?”

“Okra my lord, he was called Okra. Gurkat Okra.”

Dagomar nodded. He turned and looked at the dead legionary.

“He is at peace now. He met his death without fear and with honor. He died by his own blade and with it he washed the shame of his defeat…and of the men that died with him. He will not be forgotten.”

He noticed the surprise and the respect his men gave him as he gave the eulogy to the fallen soldier. It was a final honor given after death to warriors that died in great battles.

“Thank you my lord.”

Dagomar looked at the scout.

“Why do you thank me Orguz? What was this legionary to you?”

The scout kneeled next to the body of the fallen legionary and touched the helmet and then he closed the eyelids.

“He was a family friend my lord, and a good personal friend.”

Dagomar placed his hand on the shoulder of the scout.

“Then be happy to know that he died like a soldier and with the highest honor. He was given a legionary death by a noble enemy, an enemy that respects our ways.”

“He always wanted a noble death, a death by human.”

Dagomar smiled.

“Yes that is a good way to die. The humans are worthy and they know and respect our ways. They know how a legionary dies. I think Okra met his death by the hands of a human he respected.”

He turned towards the legionaries that were gathering the bodies for burial.

“I want this legionary to receive the highest honor.”

Then he looked at the scout.

“It is time to find his killers. We move out.”

He looked one last time towards the dead legionaries and then moved forward. While he walked he wondered about the humans that did this. From what he could see it was obvious that the ambush was performed by experts for war in this area. As he thought of that he wondered how many more legionaries will die before they catch the humans that were responsible for this. He didn’t know why but his gut told him that the ambushers were humans.

He received his answer just moments later as he heard the explosions in the distance. He heard the surprise and the anger in the voices of the legionaries as they reported the casualties.

He heard the report that the bodies of the second platoon were used as decoy. It was a tactic that surprised him but it also gave him the knowledge he needed about his enemy.

The fact that they rigged the bodies of his second advanced party showed him that the enemy didn’t feel respect for them. And they neither felt fear.

He soon lost contact with a second team. That gave him pause. Before he could issue a command he felt the impact of something in his chest. He tried to speak but he felt his strength slip.

“Sniper.” He heard the shout from behind him. He felt someone catching him as he fell.

He noticed the face of the legionary that he spoke with before.

Then he only saw darkness as death came for him.

Sanders smiled as he noticed the dacarian falling. He knew that he was an officer by the way he commanded all around him. Moments later he triggered the mines he and the rest of his team placed around. As the explosives activated dozens of legionaries were blasted and killed. It spread confusion in their ranks. He used it to score several more hits and then retreated.

He joined the rest of his team after half an hour and reported his success. The enemy would have to slow down after this. That was all they needed.

With that Rhodes and his group retreated. 

Kelley watched as the three Illians went to the group before him. Arnes spoke briefly with the leader and then waved them forward.

As he did Kelley together with Ellis stepped forward.

As they moved they observed the group. Most were Illians. There were several members of other races. He noticed two Sicarians among them. The tall aliens watched them calmly with their dark eyes. Kelley knew they were studying them. He remembered the Sicarian that died on Earth. His name was Agnail and if Fillip was to be believed he was a general in the last days of the war the Sicarians and the Dacarians fought. He was one of the reasons that he is here now, that humanity had a chance to take back what was stolen from it. He watched the two aliens but didn’t notice anything that would give out their ranks. They were wearing simple garments that reminded him of togas like humans used to wear that covered most of their bodies leaving only the hands and legs free. He noticed that they had their bones at the elbows removed.

He nodded to them and then turned to the leading Illian.

As he watched him the Illian stepped forward and extended his hand.

“Arnes tells me that you are friends who will help us. My name is Morai.”

His accent was strange but he spoke Latin fluently like someone who spoke it all his life. 

Kelley took his hand in his and shook it.

“Yes we will but you will have to follow our lead. And match our speed.”

The Illian turned towards Arnes with a look filled with questions. They exchanged few words and Kelley noticed the hesitation on Morai’s face.

“We can’t move that fast. The women and children won’t be able to keep up.”

Kelley turned and looked at the small group they saved from certain death with the actions against the chasing dacarian troops.

He knew his orders about not interfering. As he thought of that he noticed two small children watching him. One of them was Illian while the other was from a different race.

The girl watched him with its dark brown eyes. As he looked at her she smiled. It was obvious that she found him interesting and wasn’t afraid of him.

He smiled back.

He turned back towards Morai.

“You will have to keep up. I know that it will be hard but it is the only chance you have.”

The Illian looked at him and now he was obviously angry.

“And if we can’t? What happens then?”

“Then you are dead. If you can’t follow us we’ll be forced to leave you behind.”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew he made a mistake. The armed group of Illians and several other aliens stepped forward. Two of them started raising their weapons. He noticed the Sicarians moving forward but also watching the sides. They knew that he had others with him.

Arnes started arguing with Morai.

“I don’t know what unit he is from but you will report this to the council or I will and they will pay for it. We have women and children with us. We already left the old ones and many others to die. They died to buy us time.”

As the Illian spoke his last words two of the larger creatures came forward and from the way they moved it was obvious that they planned to take action. Kelley looked at Ellis and they both stepped back.

“Morai no, tell them to stop.”

As the older Illian shook his head Ellis raised his hand and made a circling movement with his hand.

A second later two pops were heard as two bullets struck the earth beneath the feet of the two advancing warriors. A moment later the rest of the two teams except the four snipers stepped out of the trees and bushes surrounding the group.

Kelley looked at Arnes whose face was now white.

“Tell them to stop. Tell them we don’t want to hurt them we are not the enemy here.”

Arnes thought for just a second. Then he grabbed Morai and drew him close.

“Stop this. The council has no jurisdiction on them because they are not part of our troops Morai. They have their own mission on this world. A mission we all prayed for.”

As he spoke those words everyone stopped.

It took just a second for their meaning to register.

As it did they could hear gasps from the members of the group.

Several of the children came close to the soldiers and started touching them. Kelley smiled as he noticed Flint trying to fight of the attention of three children. He had a gentle look and a smile on his face as he did it. It was something he rarely saw in the last few years. As he watched him he felt a tug on his hand. He looked down and noticed the small girl that smiled at him before looking at him. She looked at his uniform. He smiled and took out a chocolate bar and handed it to her. She looked at the wrapped chocolate with wonder.

“I think she needs some help with that sir.”

Ellis pulled out another chocolate and opened it showing the girl how to do it. He then took a bite. As he did the girl’s eyes lit with delight and she opened hers. The delight increased as she tasted the sweet chocolate. Ellis and Kelley smiled. Ellis gave his chocolate to the other child that was close to him. Moments later the two children were laughing and showing the chocolate to the other children. It made everyone smile as they watched them.

Kelley’s radio beeped at that moment. It was the signal that Rhodes and his men were back. He looked at Arnes.

The Illian knew what he was going to say.

“Your friends are back.”

“Yes. It’s time to move out.”

Kelley pointed to flint who nodded and moment later he noticed Fly bringing the captured weapons.

He spread them on the ground and let the Illians and the others choose.

They grabbed the weapons fast. Kelley noticed that the two Sicarians armed themselves as well. He nodded and then gave the movement sign with his finger.

Just moments later they moved out. Rhodes and his team covered the rear, his team moved to the front and Atkins was with the group of refugees.

As they moved they helped the women and children on the rougher terrain.

They moved a bit slower but it was still a good tempo.

Kelley felt Atkins coming behind him. He knew it was him by the way he moved.

“We’ll have to stop soon. It is almost nightfall and I doubt they’ll be able to continue.”

“I know. There is a small river about two miles forward. We’ll make camp there. Tell Arnes and Morai that.”

Atkins nodded.

As he left Kelley noticed Ellis watching him.

“We are moving slow. And we might be endangering the mission sir.”

Kelley scratched his head.

“I know but if we leave them will be no better then the bastards that are hunting them. That is something that is cold blooded and cruel.”

“I know James. But we were chosen because we are cold. We’ve done it before and we need to do it now. We just take Arnes and leave the others behind. We gave them a chance it’s up to them to use it.”

Kelley watched his friend.

“We know each other a long time and you know as well as me that if we leave them they are as good as dead. I know there were situations where we’ve made that same choice. But here and now that would be wrong. This is a contact situation and what we do now today will be something that will be remembered and will open a new path before not just us, but before humanity John. What we do now we do for the future of our race.”

Ellis looked to the front.

“You’re right James. It’s just…hell I don’t know. Even if we do manage to save them they might all die. It might all be for nothing. The Dacarians are pushing for an end game. We both know that if they do there is nothing at all we can do. Our fleet is just moving out from Earth. It will be at least seven, eight months until they reach here. I doubt that they can hold out that long.”

Kelley placed a hand on his friends shoulder.

“We don’t know what lies in the future. All we know is what happens in the present. They survived for this long so who can say that they won’t survive for several more months. And now they have us to help them and train them. It might not be much but this is what we were trained for. There are millions of slaves on this world. And my guess is that there are at least as many rebels. That is one hell of an army and work force to use. We worked miracles with lot less as u know.”

That brought a smile on Ellis’s face.

“You’re right James. Thanks.”

They both smiled and kept on moving.

They reached the camp site soon. It was a good location. The small river was well hidden by the jungle that surrounded it on all sides and gave them cover from any aerial patrols. There were large rocks that gave them cover and strong defense against any attack in the rear and front. And the large trees and jungle around them hid them from any sight.