Black Legion: 04 - Last Stand (4 page)

“God King, I will bring Mudrya back to your control, and Amyrtaeus’ head will be placed on a pike as a warning to all traitors.”

The Emperor nodded happily at this, but his expression remained impassive. He indicated for the warrior to stand and then continued.

“The Satrapy of Mudrya will suffer the Great Pain upon completion of this war.”

That drew an even stronger reaction. Even Tissaphernes was surprised to hear of the old punishment being used. The Great Pain was a measure used rarely by leaders in the past, whereby cities were selected at random and razed to the ground, with its inhabitants forced to burning along with the city itself. It was a cruel, barbaric punishment and only ever used against worlds that revolted.

“The traitor has already taken control of the regions of Kibris and Finiqyah and added the territories to expand his domain to threaten the Core Worlds. You will do everything in your power to assist in this campaign and to ensure nothing like this ever happens in your own territories.”

He then concentrated his look towards Tissaphernes with a glare that seemed to burn through his skull. It was one of the few times he had truly felt nervous.

“Lord Tissaphernes.”

He lifted himself to his feet and bowed.

“God King Artaxerxes.”

The Emperor smiled at this and then continued.

“What news of the Terran fools that dared move on Cunaxa? Must I intervene again to remove them from my domains?”

Tissaphernes could feel his face starting to flush.

“No, my King. I have made use of Ariaeus and Phalinus, as you requested.”

The God King nodded and indicated for him to return to his seat.

“Good. I have little interest in what happens to them, provided they leave my Empire. Chase them, or destroy them, just move them from the Core Worlds.”

He lifted his hands to encompass all of the Satraps and military commanders.

“If these, or any other rebels enter your territories, you will offer them nothing but scorched earth, blood, and pain. Do you understand?”

A great chorus of agreement echoed out of the hall, and only Tissaphernes watched on in silence. He moved his mouth to mimic the others, but his mind was on the Terrans, and as he reminded himself of the Emperor’s words, he could see that the great campaign he imagined had been transformed. Following Cunaxa, he expected the pursuit of the Terrans would give him the greatest honours. Now it seemed the Emperor’s only concern was his Core Worlds. Once they were safe, it was for any of the Satraps to deal with, and that galled him more than anything else.

So, he thinks this Amyrtaeus of Sais is the real threat? I’ll drag the ruins of the Titans to Babylon Prime and show him my value.

* * *

Planet Larissa, Core Worlds

The dromon dropped down into the thick atmosphere with a series of rough vibrations, shaking the craft from front to back. The exterior flashed and burned, but the armour and light shielding did its job to protect the vessel, and in just a few minutes, they were through and heading for the surface. A final vibration marked its descent as the spoilers and airbrakes deployed on their lowest setting. The airspeed dropped substantially, and then the journey changed as quickly as the vibrations had started. The internal screens showed a wide panoramic view of the planet below for the passengers to examine.

“Seven minutes,” said the pilot half-heartedly.

Larissa was one of the richest agricultural worlds the Terrans had ever seen, even when compared to the richest rural worlds back in the Terran territories. It was the only habitable planet in the current star system, yet produced enough food for half of all the key worlds around Babylon Prime for which it was responsible. A dozen stations circled the planet to assist in loading and offloading supplies, people, and equipment. Half of the Terran fleet remained in orbit while the rest waited in a holding pattern further out in space, all waiting and ready for signs of the Medes and their warships that were expected to arrive at any moment.

The Terrans had already made a dozen jumps prior to arriving just three hours after a massive Median convoy had jumped out, leaving the world completely free of Imperial security forces, apart from a single antiquated Median heavy cruiser. The ship had survived less than ninety seconds when the Legion ships attacked it. The black shape of the wreckage entering the atmosphere was now visible from the dromon as it continued downwards.

Only the regional security units, local police, and an armed citizenry remained to protect against pirates and marauders. These had all wisely stayed out of the way as the Terran ships moved into position. Though just as significant as many of the populated worlds in the Empire, it couldn’t have been more different that the rest. The surface was devoid of great cities, and most transportation was conducted using solar powered aircraft and large ground trains that used magnetic-levitation tracks that criss-crossed the fertile world.

“This place looks boring as hell,” grumbled Glaucon.

Xenophon chuckled at his friend. The two had visited scores of worlds, and even he had to admit this place was one of the least interesting he’d ever seen. Even so, after spending so much time in space or fighting on planets like Cunaxa, it would be nice to set foot on somewhere more peaceful. His own family had large rural holdings on Attica where there was still a great deal of arable land, even quite close to the capital.

“It will get a whole lot more interesting if that ship comes down anywhere near here,” replied Xenophon.

“It won’t make much of a difference,” added Roxana, “Almost the entire surface of this world is water or farmland.”

She’d been silent for the duration of their descent from the fleet. Of them all, she was the oldest though only by a few years. She was tall, even bigger than Xenophon, and her thick auburn hair and grey eyes had caught the attention of many of the other Terrans, both male and female. Even so, she’d been nothing but the most committed of the Legion, and her knowledge and skills were second to none amongst them.

“True. Just don’t forget what our luck has been like recently.”

Tamara groaned and attention quickly shifted to the young woman who was barely older than a girl. She rubbed her aching leg and grimaced. There was no obvious sign of injury as her uniform and armour covered it up.

“I thought you’d healed up?” asked Glaucon.

Tamara said nothing and just shifted her shoulder before returning to her leg.

“What’s the news from Artemas?” Roxana asked.

Xenophon felt a pang of concern at the mention of her name. Sending her ahead with an unarmed entourage had worried him greatly. The only concession had been to allow a party of unarmed Laconians to go with her. He had no doubt they were all deadly warriors, but even an automaton could kill a Laconian if timed correctly and with good weaponry. The entire situation unnerved him.

“She says the local trade council is ready to see us. That’s all she said.”

Roxana pointed to the window.

“Is that it?”

Xenophon craned his neck to look down at the Trading Post. It was not much bigger than a large town, but the number of landing platforms was greater than the number of buildings. He counted eight separate sets of tracks leaving the place in every direction.

“Yes, that looks like the Trading Post.”

He glanced down to his belt and checked his weapons. On one side sat a slimline pulse pistol. It was a modest affair and fitted with a small capacity magazine to reduce the overall size. If they hit trouble, it wouldn’t last much longer than thirty shots, but that was more than enough for what they needed; he hoped so anyway.

On the other side was a pouch containing a traditional Terran kopis, a front heavy chopping blade favoured by close combat veterans, as well as all Terran spatharii. The Medes were ever fearful of the Terrans and their reputation for carrying a wide assortment of close ranged weaponry. He forced himself to not smile as he looked at the handle of the weapon. It was not something he normally carried, but a simple trade with one of the Arcadians three days before for some power cells had found him its new owner. He reached down and pulled it from its sheath. The weapon’s grip was a pale brown, hard yet comfortable to hold. It was some form of antler, but he had no idea from what animal.

The blade, on the other hand, was anything but antiquated or natural. The razor-sharp metal had been sharpened further in the ship’s armoury, and its monofilament edge would cut through flesh, bone, and clothing with ease.

“Nice blade,” said Tamara.

Her attention was never easy to gain, but edged weaponry always seemed to work. She gazed as if looking at some kind of precious jewel as Xenophon twisted and turned the weapon in his hands. He stopped and looked at her and then threw it at her, blade first. It spun through the air, and she twisted a fraction before catching the hilt.

“Nice moves, little girl,” Glaucon laughed.

Tamara flipped and tossed the blade about like a toy and then handed it back to Xenophon with a mischievous look in her eye.

“If you die, can I have it?”

All of them laughed at this, and he feigned injury at her words.

“So harsh.”

He wiped his brow and looked back at the small number of people on board. As usual, the Legion had found it impossible to decide who would organise supplies, so it was being done on a ship by ship or contingent at a time.

The other Terrans were landing at different parts of the Trading Post to reduce the risk in case of trouble. The Thessalians had been the first, even though the Dukas of their provisional Titan had ordered them not to. Their reputation for hard and fast negotiation was not ideal on this world, but they would not be held back.

“Look.”

As the dromon rotated during its vertical descent, he spotted their craft. A column of Medes civilians was busy loading containers into their craft while a pair of Terran spatharii watched on with their weapons shouldered.

What did they promise for all that?
he wondered.

The dromon shook and then as quickly as they’d arrived, they were on the ground. The doorway opened out, and the cool air of this alien world greeted him. He drank it in for a few seconds before detaching himself from the harness. Roxana placed a hand on his shoulder, and he turned to look at her. They’d been friends a long time now, since well before his own brief time in the Attican Navy.

“Are you ready?”

He nodded ever so slightly, lifting himself to his feet. It was only a short distance to the doorway, but he could already feel his nerves beginning to fray. There was a great deal riding on this negotiation, no matter what any of the others said to him. The fleet was almost out of food and fuel, and without it little to no chance they would be able to continue their journey onwards.

What really worried him though was if they stayed. There were many in the Legion, especially the Laconians, who relished the chance to take the fight to the Medes. It wasn’t just a fight that they wanted though; some advocated a direct strike on the homeworlds around Babylon Prime.

Fools, all of them.

Unlike most of the Legion, Xenophon was well schooled in ancient and modern history of both the Terrans and the Medes. Even though they’d been engaged in massive space battles already, he knew full well that the Royal Fleet of Artaxerxes was simply that. Every Satrap had access to a local fleet of similar numbers. He had already explained to the commanders of their little band of the risk they faced staying in one place too long. The Medes could pin them with a fleet, even sacrifice one just so that they could bring in more ships from the outer lying regions. His estimate was a month to bring in five regions worth of ships.

We have to negotiate and then get the hell out of this place before the Medes come visiting.

He moved down the ramp onto the pad itself and looked about at the town. The Terran traders and foraging parties had landed at the only inhabited site of significance. There were a small number of towers with two carrying communication arrays, but as far as he could tell, no weapons.

“This place, it seems awfully vulnerable for a supply world.”

Xenophon shook his head in disagreement.

“I don’t see how. They have foodstuff and provisions, valuable to planets but not for pirates and raiders. Don’t forget, there are Medes patrols in this area, and I bet one has already notified their high command of our presence.”