Sons of Leo

Scullar City | Raal Imperial World

Alexander

-Alexander, out. - The Emperor's hologram disappeared, and I rose from my knee. At last! I had waited for this hour, the moment to show everyone what we were capable of after hundreds of years of sleep. I left the communication hall and made my way to my chambers. The palace was quite large, although it had taken little time to build. After spending a few minutes on my way, I soon found myself at the door to my chambers. The two legionnaires of the First Hundred immediately stretched out their arms. They punched themselves in the chest - a solemn imperial salute - and opened the door. Nodding, I quickly made my way inside.

In the middle of the central hall stood a stand with a fine half-sword, a gift from the Emperor. As I approached it, I carefully took the sword and ran my hand over the steel and engraving. "Defensor Imperium" - Defender of the Empire. Time for the Emperor's gift to taste blood. I put my hand behind my back and slipped the sword into the special scabbard on my back that had been created in my armour. After testing the armour for comfort, I summoned the Commander of the first cohort, Primipil Lesar, my second-in-command. He did not take long to arrive and was soon hunched over me, awaiting orders.

- The Lord has given us his will, Lesar. - I came to the warrior.

- What does the Lord want from us?

- We can prove ourselves against a worthy foe, a baptism of bravery for the entire Legion! - my old friend's eyes shone with anticipation.

- Who is our opponent? - He straightened and looked me in the eye.

- The Ancient Xenos, who live in a sea of stars. They are an order of magnitude superior to those in space, so it is a very worthy opponent. - I walked to the window overlooking the whole city. - Your Citadel is needed by the Emperor. I need not tell you that we cannot return without victory. It was either that or death. - We both looked out at the city, at the huge battleship that towered over it, seeming to protect it from all danger.

- Who's going camping? - Lesar, as usual, preferred to know from the start, immediately.

- The whole Legion and the younger brothers, except for the company of the guard, they'll protect Raal.

- Shall I give the order for the training camp to begin?

- Yes, and summon all Primipils to the central hall to discuss strategy and tactics for the march. - The warrior nodded and fled through the doors in a flash while I turned my gaze back to the city's lights.

- Brothers. - The ten Primitive officers stood up and pounded their fists into their chests. Beside each stood his sword, unlike any other, for each warrior had forged it when he joined the Legion. - You may sit. - When I had waited for everyone to arrive, I continued. - Do you already know the purpose of this meeting?

- Yes, Legatus. Lesar has informed us of the Emperor's will. - The Commander of the third cohort has taken the floor.

- Then, we will discuss the composition of the troops. - I ran my hand over the table and activated the holographic panel. The Legion emblem that first appeared was quickly replaced by a tactical grid, and volumetric images of the Legion's ships appeared on my side.

- The fleet will lead the Indestructible with its escort squadron. - With a slight wave of my hand, a huge flagship and several dozen escort ships flew into the centre of the screen. - Also joining the main group were the battleships of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th cohorts - Glorious, Germanica and Gastat. - Three almost identical groups were added to the first. - Any other suggestions?

- The enemy must have a strong space constellation to defend such a large base. - Tarkus, the Arch-Admiral of the Legion, has already spoken this time. - I suggest adding a molecular cannon battleship, the Jericho, and a carrier squadron to the fleet. - He quickly ran his fingers over the sensor panel, and another large group was added to the fleet.

- These ships could tip the scales in our favour if the usual forces fall short. - I leaned back and stared thoughtfully at the images of the ships. - We will take this option if there are no objections...

- My Lord! - The leader of the tenth cohort, the youngest officer in the Legion, Arrius, stood up sharply. - Allow my cohort to join the campaign as well!

- Arius! - Lesar said menacingly. - Your tone is inappropriate for a Legatus. And you are too young, as is your cohort. This quest is the Emperor's will, not a routine patrol! So curb your ambition and cultivate yourself; you are too young. - I interrupted him as the sad young warrior prepared to sit down.

- Calm down, Lesar. The young are thirsty for blood and battle, so why not give it to them? You, too, went through your baptism as a boy at the dawn of the Empire, and no one said a word. Aryan! - The boy almost jumped out of his chair, "What is the status of your ship?

- The Rubicon is ready for battle, Master! My cohort is also ready to fulfil the Emperor's will and destroy his enemies!

- Excellent. So be it, Arius. I agree with your cohort's participation in the campaign. Still, you must prove your worth, for you are the youngest principal to have joined the Legion. Prove yourself worthy of your sword.

- I will not fail the Legion, my Lord. - The joyful warrior returned to his position amid the disgruntled grunts and looks of the commanders of the higher cohorts.

- The fleet is complete. That's enough force to manoeuvre the defences and the rest to guard the borders. Now for the landing party. In addition to a cohort on battleships, we'll take the younger brothers with us. They will board the landing ships Iberia and Kalars. Once we've dealt with their fleet, they'll unload two thousand soldiers on the station. After that, we'll begin a systematic search. In total, five thousand of our warriors are involved in this campaign.

- I suggest we capture at least one of their ships. Its weapons systems should be quite advanced. It could be of great interest to the Mechanicus. - said the Adept Brother, the Mechanicus representative to the Legion and Commander of the Special Cohort, in a mechanical voice.

- Yes, that's right, prepare your troops and ships for battle. We leave in two days. Hail to the Empire!

- HAIL!

Two days later | Terminus Systems | Omega 4 Repeater | Flagship Indestructible Bridge

- Range normal. Energy is normal. Condition normal. Breakthrough successful. - The navigator has finished his report and turned to me. - What are your next orders?

- Status report on the fleet. - I clenched and unclenched my hand on the hilt of my sword. It allowed me to calm down and clear my mind, but it only worked for me.

- All Alpha class ships reporting, fleet on full alert.

- Good. Begin calculating the jump to the centre. - The navigator has returned to his instruments. - Archaea, why did we have to go to this system? The Xenos has been running around since we got here.

- Strong energy fluctuations at the arrival point. A collapse from the previous location is virtually unrealistic. - The Adept looked up from his book and slowly turned his gaze to me. - And here is the catapult that will make it easier for us to break through the corridor for the ships.

- Accepted. What do the spirits think? Will they be on our side in this battle?

- I and the other adepts will call upon the ship's heart, and it will give us all its power in battle. The Emperor's messengers are always with us, his righteous warriors.

- Glad to hear it, Adept. Let me know when we can proceed to the centre. - The Adept has returned to his book, written in a language known only to the Mechanicus.

- Master, the Xenos are assembling warships and attempting to contact us. What will be the orders? - Astropath's fingers ran quickly over the keyboard, the screen in front of him dotted with all sorts of diagrams, graphs and displays of communication lines. - Should I ignore them?

- Yes, they are not part of our plans, and there is no point in destroying them. It's the only way we'll find trouble, so keep ignoring them and calculating jump coordinates.

- Understood. - was answered by several voices at once.

I got up and went to the observation window. In front of the ship, a red light was glowing for some reason, the catapult behind which was our destination. We would have been there by now if it hadn't been for those damned energy storms. But nothing, everything would inevitably happen, and our enemies would know our wrath. A few hours will make no difference.

- Coordinates loaded, ready to break through! - The navigator's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.

- Are the other ships ready?

- Yes, sir. The coordinates have been downloaded, and the crew's report is ready.

- Acknowledged. Commence jump! - A moment later, the ship shuddered, and a blue vortex appeared in front of it, behind which an ancient enemy waited for us...

Space near the Gatherer Base |

- The breach was successful. - The navigator finished his report and turned to me. - Orders?

- What about the perimeter and our destination? - I stood up and returned to the glass separating us from the void. - And give me a link to the rest of the battleships.

- Large areas are occupied by the wreckage of ships; these are the ships of those who have visited this place. There's a ninety per cent chance they're hiding an enemy vanguard or patrol. Scanning has yielded little; they don't 'glow' amongst the wreckage. The rest of the ships are the same. The Citadel itself has also been detected and appears on the screen.

- Link established! - The Astropath made some final manipulations on the console, and the images of all the Primitives in the control room appeared before me in their command positions. In the centre was the image of the Xeno station and a dozen large ships.

- We have arrived, brothers. This station," I drew the structure closer, "is the Citadel. Our ground forces are strong enough to take it, but there's a problem. - The hologram has moved to the large ships. - Their space group outnumbers ours in large ships. If we destroy them quickly, the entire mission could be safe.

- My adepts report that their main weaponry is forward. We should be able to concentrate fire on their bow. We should gain some advantage. - We should also be able to rely on the molecular weapon; re-energising it should allow us to fire four rounds before they're close to us. After that, the main force will be in action.

- My Air Force will launch flanking attacks as they enter the junk fields. The bots will destroy their MLAs and give us room to manoeuvre. - spoke Arius, who had commanded carriers and his battleship during the campaign. - On my command, I will release nearly a thousand bots.

- Understood, these junk fields are probably hiding their ships, have the bots cover us as a shield against their attack, and then search the wreckage. - The young Legionnaire said something over the image, and the radar began to show hundreds of emerging MLA marks, spreading out in groups around the main formation.

- Then we begin the advance. Avitus," the gunship commander looked at me, "your adepts should be working at maximum; if you can get five shots in, that would be very good. I have forwarded your targets to you. - The man nodded, and his image disappeared. - Arius, send a part of the MLA to patrol around us and keep the battleship in formation. - The young officer nodded as well and disappeared. - The rest of you keep formation and head for the station. Over!

- Sir, we're moving into firing range. Any special orders?

- Open fire as soon as possible and have the fighters cover the Avitus ship.

- Transmitting orders.

Like pieces of asteroids, the longships moved quickly towards the uninvited ships. Soon they would have punished the intruder, for they were outnumbered, but something went wrong...

A bright blue lightning bolt ripped through space and struck one of the Collectors' cruisers. The ship was instantly shattered into a thousand pieces and exploded from within. Stunned by the immediate loss of his ship, the Xeno commander ordered a maximum approach and attack on the MLA. But again, he was unsuccessful.

"The Eye activated and immediately received the order, as did hundreds of drones like it. Powering up its engines and weapons systems, it raced through the wreckage towards the alien ships, preparing to strike. But suddenly, from somewhere above, tracers shot across its flight path and tore through its hull, leaving nothing but molten holes. In this battle, the Empire's bots had the upper hand, and they took advantage. The Ancient machines died one by one, unable to cope with the swarm of Terran machines. Soon the ambushes were destroyed, and the Empire lost only a few dozen bots. The rest left to escort their carriers.

The main battle was only minutes away, and the decks of the carriers were filled with unprecedented excitement. Pilots manned their vehicles while scores of personnel checked systems and loaded ammunition. Soon, the last pilot strapped his helmet on and connected to his ship's network. All squadrons were ready for battle. Immediately a siren sounded, signalling the start of the hangar depressurisation, and the younger brothers hurried to hide in the ship's bowels as their work was done. The room was sealed once the last man had escaped, and the hangar door crept upwards. Once completely hidden in the hull, the catapult roared and ejected the machines into space, where the pilots formed into squadrons and headed towards the enemy.

The bridge of the flagship Indestructible

There were already four Keno ships destroyed on the screen. By the looks of it, Avitus could deliver another salvo. But the rest would still have to be engaged. I shifted my gaze to the gunner's screens, where the computer tracked the target. Countless lines, numbers, and analyses of the situation are all processed by the machine to fire at the enemy ships with pinpoint accuracy.

- How much longer? - We should have fired first; it would have given us an advantage in the battle.

- A lot of debris, Commander. All of it must be accounted for when firing.

- We only have a little time, Gunner. Faster!

- I'm trying, but the machine can't calculate any faster. Too many external factors! - he turned to me anxiously.

- They're about to fire a volley! - shouted the navigator, keeping an eye on the system and reporting the build-up of energy in the ship's bow.

- Ready! - All lines came together directly on the cannon of the nearest Ancient ship.

- FIRE! - I slammed my fist down on the armrest.

The squadron's volley coincided with the last shot of the main cannon. Immediately, one ship shattered into pieces, and the other two took heavy damage to their bows, the pulses melting them through. Soon they, too, exploded, one of them splitting in two. Superiority was already on the side of the Empire. But it was time to strike back. A beam of energy piled up in the nose of the asteroid and crashed into the Indestructible.

- Shields to level two, now! - We were seconds away from impact, and everyone was prepared for it. The shield would be breached in a heartbeat if they didn't activate their energy weapon protection, and no one knew how long the hull would hold. But the Emperor had shown mercy this time...

The energy beam hit the energy field, and... nothing. Not even a drop in power; in fact, it increased.

- Stage two is ready, energy for twenty hours, then we go to reset. - The Adept reported in a calm voice.

- Perfect. - I relaxed and leaned back on the throne. - Approaching from starboard. Gunner, ninety degrees to starboard. Engine room, power up the engines. Battleship Germanica, have her do the same, but with the centre. And pass the order to Arius. He and his cohort should take the farthest ship; it will be proof of his abilities.

- All commanders have their orders, Legatus.

I looked out the window at the Xeno ship trying to burn through our shields and grinned. They are so weak before the power of the Emperor...

- Gunner, burn them out! - The laser beams began to burn holes in the asteroid's hull, and soon it exploded, shattering into several pieces.

- Report casualties.

- Ten auxiliary ships, twenty assault ships and up to a hundred bots were lost. They couldn't penetrate the defences of the larger ships. - I glanced at the screen again, where the landing pods of the tenth cohort were landing on the downed ship.

- Make your way to the station, brothers. We're almost there!

After two days of heavy fighting.

I walked slowly through the corridors of the captured base. Pulse rifle marks on the walls and the occasional charred Xenos corpse. Yes, this attack had been difficult. Their completely alien architecture posed many problems for humans. As did the numbers of enemy infantry. But they were completely unsuited to hand-to-hand combat. A modified legionnaire could easily tear them in half, and the sword and shield-bearing squads allowed them to storm countless corridors without casualties. Yet they were elsewhere.

All in all, about a hundred brothers and nearly three hundred younger ones died in two days of fighting. The outsiders, on the other hand, died in their millions. Such low casualties were due to the latest power armour provided by the Mechanics. The Ancients' weapons, except for the heaviest specimens and combat vehicles, could barely penetrate it. But what we captured here made their deaths not random.

I entered the main hall and looked around. Thin rows of brothers flanked each other, forming a corridor at the end of which the commanders were waiting for me. Nearly the entire Legion was here, now rhythmically pounding their fists against their armour, creating a rhythm similar to ancient drums. Hundreds of eyes followed me all the way to the centre. When I arrived, I saw what my brothers wanted to show me. In a pool of blood gushing from his wounds lay the half-living, spider-like leader of the Xeno, gurgling and twitching his legs. Two legionnaires were pinning him down with their spears, causing the spider to twitch occasionally. Nearby, the captured beetles, several hundred of them, stood tied up, unable to move.

I approached it and stepped on its head, causing it to scramble, but when I drew a spear, it fell silent again. I drew my sword, pointed it upwards and shouted:

- Victoria! - The answer was a high sword thrust and a thunderous roar:

- VICTORIA!

Our Legion has written its name in the Book of the Glory of the Empire...