Chapter 5: The Battle Of Mars

“Jumping into intercept co-ordinates in sixty seconds my lord.” The helmsman informed the admiral. He took a handkerchief and wiped his brow. He always knew it would come to this one day. He never thought it would be in his lifetime. He pressed a button on his communicator.

" This is Admiral Adonis. We are about to engage the enemy. Make no mistake people, we are not going to win. Our job is to buy time for our people to escape. When we die, we will do so that our children can live to avenge this genocide. Form to formation.”

“Arriving in five...four...three...two...one.”

In unison every ship jumped in, firing on acquired targets almost immediately. Missiles and white-hot beams of light streaked the dark void of space and almost immediately two unshielded creator vessels erupted in a brilliant ball of light. Everyone on the bridge yelled in elation. But their victory was short-lived. The dreadnoughts returned fire and the results were devastating. Admiral Adonis watched in horror as he saw his fleet being decimated as one ship practically broke in half in the first wave of the return fire. He ordered his crew to return fire. The result was as demoralizing as the destruction of his fleet, as missiles and lasbeams were deflected by shields.

We obviously caught them unawares with our immediate attack. They didn’t even have time to raise their shields. And now we are caught in their destructive web. Whoresons!

He wiped his brow again. There was no way of winning. He knew this. He thought of his wife and daughter back in Argos. It was her birthday today. She was still asleep this morning when he left her his present on her nightstand. It was a carving of a horse. He wiped his burning eyes and activated his communicator again.

“Remainder of the fleet. I will be damned if those bastards shoot me down like a dog. I am going to ram my ship down their throats. Any of you wish to do the same mark your ship and proceed to ramming speed. Hellion is with us all.”

And, as if on cue, every ship that remained blasted into the ships of their supposed masters, hoping against hope that their sacrifice was enough. That it was not in vain. Before his ship crashed into a dreadnought, he wondered if Earth had roses. Bright red ones.

---

Remus held onto his leg trying to staunch the flow of blood. He ran into a back alley, returning fire at his pursuers. Gods this hurts. He had to get to the Icarus in time. Creator troops landed and in a matter of hours overwhelmed their ground forces. He gave missile command thirty minutes to launch the missiles.

“My lord! Over here!” a soldier shouted at him. A bolt of emerald energy struck the block of apartments next to him and he dove to the side trying to avoid the falling debris.

The cohort of legionnaires rushed forward to attack his pursuers. A brief firefight ensued and the two giants fell, smoke rising from their wounds.

“Sire, we have a problem. Creators have been spotted advancing on the missile complex. They know about the launch.” A soldier said, helping him up.

“Bastards!” he spat.

“We have a transport just around the corner. We need to buy more time.” The commander said breathlessly.

He took a deep breath and looked up to the sky. Creator ships were still landing and the cries and screams of mercy rang in his ears, accompanied by sporadic gunfire. Life seemed so sweeter than being a martyr. However, there was no one else. The task of saving his family, and his race fell to him now. He lifted his communicator to his parched lips.

“Brother is everyone safe?” he hoped against hope that the enemy did not cut off planet-wide communications yet.

“Remus! Gods man where the hell are you? We are about to leave. You have to get here now!”

Remus sighed and bit his lip.

“Rom, do me a favor will you? Say farewell to mother and Lucinda for me?”

“Remus you better get your carcass on this ship this instant! You have played your part. It’s time to leave.” Romulus shouted over the speaker.

“Dear brother, it has to be. If I do not stay, there will be escape for no one. I love you all. Take care of our people. And Rom, light a candle for me will you?”

Hearing the wails of his brother did not stop him as he took his communicator and smashed it against a broken gutter. He grabbed a rifle from one of his men.

“Come, we have little time to waste.”

---

They arrived at the missile control complex at the same time as the enemy. He looked at his watch. He had exactly ten minutes left. The creators immediately started firing on their prey. They took cover behind a blasted wall and returned fire.

“I need two men to come with me to hold the control room. The rest of you I bid farewell. I will see you in Elysium. And if any one of you gets there before me, don’t drink all the beer!”

Nervous laughter was all he could get from them. He did not blame them. He was scared out of his gourd too. Super-heated bolts of molten plasma left gaping holes in the chests of two soldiers next to him. Legionnaires returned fire but to no avail as their weapons were rendered ineffective, bouncing off their shields.

“Run my lord! We will hold them off!

Remus didn’t need a second invitation. He ran inside the building with two soldiers hot on his heels. The giants just stood there and laughed at the defender's attempts to overpower them. The commander grits his teeth in anger.

“Draw swords!”

“Swords sir?”

“Their barriers obviously stops fast moving objects. Let’s see how well it works when we enter their shields!”

And so with all the dignity and courage, they could muster, they drew their swords and charged the enemy.

---

He pressed a button on a panel against the wall and a massive plasteel door sealed the room, the two soldiers faced the door, rifles at the ready. Remus just smiled. Gods, how did it come to this? Our entire civilization was wiped out in a matter of hours. Swept aside like chaff in the wind. Remus could set the timer again to hasten the launch. He decided against it. It felt like committing suicide. Remus wanted to look the destroyer in the eye before he dies. Of all the stupid things he had done in his life, this was the one thing that made the most sense to him. He has enjoyed the euphoria of wine. The scent of many women, and seeing the wonders of the galaxy. But all of this felt meaningless to him. This is what he was meant to do. The path of his life led him to this. He just hoped that whoever found this planet-grave will do better than they have.

“Brother, if you can hear me, do it differently this time.”

The door burst in a hail of shrapnel. The two soldiers close to the door were turned to dust. Lucky for him, Remus ducked behind the desk, shielding him from the worst of the blast.

Two giants entered the room. They had to walk in sideways due to the size and bulk of their armoured suits. Remus got up and felt something warm running down his arm. It was blood, coming from a wound caused by shrapnel. He pulled out the metal shard and let it drop to the floor. One of the giants stepped forward.

“You are the last of your kind child.” It said in a disembodied, robotic monotone.

Romulus and the rest of the evacuation fleet were prepared to jump to earth at the moment of destruction. Silently he hoped his brother’s timing was as good as his.

“It would seem that way yes.” He said grinning at his captor.

“And yet you do not seem disturbed by this. Curious.” It replied.

“We know you plan to use atomic weapons against our ships human. We are impervious to such as you already know.” The second giant remarked.

It started as a chuckle and built up into raucous laughter. The giant closest to him grabbed him by his shirt and lifted him into the air.

“What is so funny human?”

“If you are so smart, I thought you would know when a jest evokes laughter.” Remus smirked.

Almost there. Just a minute longer.

“Something is wrong, he’s hiding something.” The second giant told his comrade.

“Maybe it is just fear, driving him to madness.” The other giant offered. Remus started to laugh.

“Fools! We are tired of running. We would rather die at our own hands than be conquered by murderous thugs!” Remus roared.

He saw the giants hesitate.

“Those missiles were not meant for your mighty fleet. It is meant for us. We are scourging this world. And we are taking you with us!”

Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He became the centre of the universe and felt the cosmos fill him up to the brim. Then time stood still.

I will not die. I will be the eternal messenger. The watchman. The rear guard.

Time resumed its usual course, as he lifted his arms and released the power within him. The giants looked at each other, completely confused as the building started to shake beneath their feet.

“He is channeling!” The one shouted as he dropped Remus onto his knees. Both took a step back.

“That is not possible!”

Those were the last thoughts of dying men as Remus created a gravity well that brought the whole structure onto itself. In an instant the whole building crumbled, destroying everyone and everything inside it. As he slipped into darkness, his last thoughts were of his family. His brother and sister. And his mother.

---

As the blinding lights of atomic eruptions appeared on the planet's surface, they all held hands. Romulus held his hand to his chest. And before they jumped, he muttered silently:

“Give thanks to those who came before.

Give thanks to those who gave their lives.

Give thanks to those yet to come.”