Sword of Axia (The Arcadian Jihad) (14 page)

Ahura is a jealous God, filled with vengeance and wrath. He takes revenge on all who oppose him and furiously destroys his enemies! Ahura is slow to get angry, but his power is great, and he never lets the guilty go unpunished. He displays his power in the whirlwind and the storm. The billowing clouds are the dust beneath his feet. At his command the oceans and rivers dry up, the lush pastures of Corazon and Isolde fade, and the green forests of Hesperia wilt. In his presence the mountains quake, and the hills melt away; planets tremble and people are destroyed. Who can stand before his fierce anger? Who can survive his burning fury? His rage blazes forth like fire, and the mountains crumble to dust in his presence. Ahura is good. When trouble comes, he is a strong refuge. And he knows everyone who trusts in him. But he sweeps away his enemies in an overwhelming flood. He pursues his foes into the darkness of night.

Excerpt from the Scrolls of Axia – Part IX The Journey

System Standard 2728.1305 Peria City, Planet Hesperia

Blas and Smetana were waiting in the darkness behind the ancient amphitheatre that served as the Perian military base for the Axians. They had their entire force with them, a total of forty men. The previous day they’d discussed the plan of attack with the Orphexian women, Serena, Nightingale and Evelyn. Nightingale and Evelyn knew the routine of the barracks quite well, they’d suggested this plan to overcome several thousand troopers using just their meager force. It was quite simple, they’d said, six of the men would secure the armory so that the Axians had no access to their heavy weapons. Then they’d rush in hard and fast, relying on speed and surprise. They were counting on the shattering realization that they were under attack to prevent the Axians working out that even bare handed they could beat off their attackers who were only armed with light laser weapons. Once more, the Axians were the architects of a huge flaw in their security, keeping the weapons locked away from their own men for fear of treachery. Like totalitarian regimes since the dawn of history it was their Achilles heel. Their own people. If the populace ever saw through the empty rhetoric of false promises and turned on their masters, the end would be swift indeed. The women had assured them that the plan would work, even though many of them doubted it, Blas amongst them. There was a just a faint possibility that they would succeed without major bloodshed or property damage.

“It seems to be quiet,” Blas murmured to his companion.

Smetana nodded. “It’s too easy, Constantine. Do you trust those Orphexians?”

Blas shivered. It was a mild night, but whenever he thought of those beautiful women, there was something about them that made him feel uneasy. He remembered the powerful, invisible aura that surrounded Evelyn Gluck. But he also remembered his emotions when she was near. “I’m not sure, perhaps not entirely. But do we have a choice?”

“Tonight, no. But later, we need to have an accounting with these Orphexian women.”

A sentry came around the perimeter wall of the ancient building and continued on his rounds. Berg looked at Constantine. “Time to go.”

He spoke briefly into his wrist communicator and his squad materialized out of the darkness. They walked swiftly to the heavy double gates of the amphitheatre, the men flattened along the walls either side and Berg tapped gently. A narrow door opened and two guards stepped out cautiously.

“Yes, what is it?” the first man said, looking at Berg and Constantine.

“I have to report an accident,” Smetana said quietly.

“Eh, what’s that? What kind of an accident?”

“Yours.”

There was a blur of movement and his men caught the two Axians as they started to fall, their throats gaping open. They dragged the bodies through the narrow gate out of sight, and then the whole squad filed through. They were in.

“Two men, stay here and watch out for that sentry when he comes back. Four of you find the armory and make sure no one get’s in or out. The rest of you, let’s go and say hello to these Axians.”

Inside the massive amphitheatre they were greeted with the astonishing sight of thousands of men lying asleep in every vacant space. Above them the transparent dome allowed the starlight to illuminate the scene with a ghostly glow. The yellowy cast from the two moons of Hesperia overlaid the whole area with dark shadows. The effect was strange and mysterious. It was easy to imagine it in its heyday thousands of years ago when men fought to the death with primitive weapons. At one end of the arena was the balcony where the master of ceremonies would preside over the event. Over the centuries, many things had changed. There was the lighting and audio control booth too, they walked to the door and went inside. Inside the perspex walled room Blas and Smetana worked out the unfamiliar controls until they were ready. They looked at each other, Blas grinned. “It’s now or never.”

Smetana nodded. “Let’s do it.”

He switched on the main lighting panel and the amphitheatre was flooded with light. Simultaneously Blas flicked on the microphone switch.

“This building is now under the control of the Rescom Federation. You are surrounded by armed troops, do not try to fight, you will be shot down where you stand. All we wish to do is talk to you, there is no need to resist, you need not fight.”

They watched the scene unfolding in the body of the arena, it was chaos. Hundreds of men ran towards the armory to collect their weapons, only to encounter the armed guards posted there that threatened them with drawn weapons. Hundred more tried to rush for the main gates, only to find more armed men waiting for them, the message was clear. Resistance would be futile.

“If it dawns on their leaders that we are so few that they can just rush us, we’ll have a problem,” Blas said. He could already see an officer frantically heckling his men, trying to get them to fight back.

“You’re right, but who’s going to be first to rush the guns so that the others can step over their dead bodies?”

“There’s always a fanatic, Berg.”

“I’ll tell the men to watch for any likely candidates, they can take them out before they get a chance to rally the others.”

He spoke briefly into his wrist comm.

“Right, let’s play the message.”

He flicked a switch and the powerful voice of Guide Tell echoed around the amphitheatre.

“Soldiers of Axia, we mean you no harm and bring you greetings from the Rescom Federation.”

The voice of the President continued for twenty minutes, reasoning, cajoling, pleasing, persuading but never threatening. The message was clear, all Rescom asked was for a chance to put their point of view to the vote.

“Think how things were before the Axians took power. You had more food, more wealth and more opportunity. Have any of the promises they made to you come to pass? I suspect that they haven’t. We only ask for the chance to give you the people a choice, not a dictatorship.”

Smetana flicked off the audio, they could hear the anger of the thousands of men in front of them. Their leaders were whipping them up into a frenzy, promising everything a man could ever want, wealth, power, women, money, all they needed to do was charge the guns. The problem was that some of them were obviously considering it, building up their courage to race into immortality, into death. The whole dynamic in the amphitheatre was changing quickly, it was as if someone had lit a fuse. Blas was sickened, he knew they’d failed, what was to happen next was unimaginable. Slaughter, the deaths of hundreds if not thousands of Axians as his men opened fire to defend themselves. Abruptly it happened, the first group charged, two hundred men, whipped up by their leaders to die gloriously for the cause. They rushed the gates and the first laser beams flicked out from the Rescom pistols, ten, twenty, thirty men fell, dead or dying, some twitching on the ground in their death throes. The rest of them paused, but there was no sign that they were about to stand down.

“See what they do to your unarmed comrades?” an officer screamed at them. “These are evil bandits, trying to suck the life, the honesty and purity out of our great Axian religion. Kill them, kill them all, charge!”

It was too much, hundreds more charged at the gate. Blas held his breath, waiting for the mass slaughter to begin and already working out when to evacuate the arena. Then the charging men stopped, all of them. There was a sudden stirring amongst the guards manning the gates, they parted to allow three new arrivals to pass. Three women, Sister Serena, Vice-President of Rescom and Evelyn Gluck, First Lady of Axia with her handmaiden Nightingale. The three moved slowly forward towards the Axian troopers who had stopped dead, frozen with incredulity. How could mere women dare to withstand the might of Axian troopers? Evelyn stepped out alone to speak to them.

“You know who I am, Evelyn Gluck, daughter of the Grand Pasha. This is the Vice-President of the Rescom Federation, Sister Serena of Orphex. Between us, we ask you to listen to the message of Rescom. It is a message of peace, a message that offers you a fair choice, a message that states that there is no need for people to slaughter each other just because they disagree.”

She continued speaking in powerful but reasonable tones, she was winning them over, there was no doubt. Then two men stomped forward in the uniforms and braid of senior officers. Blas made them out to be a general and his aide, a colonel.

“I am General Jae Fachanan, officer in charge of this post. You have no authority here, Miss Gluck, just because you are the daughter of the Grand Pasha. I shall be placing you under arrest, please stand aside. Men, charge the gate and we’ll dispose of these stinking rebels!”

He looked behind him and shouted for his men to go forward. In the control booth Blas felt it, the awful, terrible certainty of defeat. His men looked downcast, uncertain. Yet so did the Axians, they seemed to be frozen with indecision, and something else. Was it fear? The General prompted them again.

“You men, shake yourselves, get moving and charge that gate now or I’ll have you arrested and shot for cowardice.” He looked at his aide. “Colonel Lars, you have your knife?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Very well, order the men to charge, if they refuse kill five of them as a warning to the others.”

They all gaped at the incredible order he’d given. Would it be enough to drive the men forward? But the Colonel solved the problem, he drew his knife and casually plunged it into the chest of his General. The senior man’s eyes widened with astonishment as he clutched at the blade.

“You, you stabbed me, you’ve killed me.”

“Better that than obey an illegal order, Sir.”

The General slumped to a bloody heap on the ground and gasped his last breath. Colonel Lars stooped down and looked at him unemotionally, then he looked up at Evelyn.

“I apologize for that, Miss Gluck. I think he lost his mind.”

“You did the right thing, Colonel. By the power vested in me as First Lady of the Nine Systems, I am promoting you to the rank of Brigadier General, this field promotion is effective as of now, you are in charge of these men. General.”

Lars swelled with pride. “Thank you, Ma’am. What are your orders?”

“Find out which of your men stand for peace and democratic choice and which are religious fanatics. Then separate them. Do you wish to join the Rescom Federation, General?”

“With all my heart, Ma’am. So do most of the men, they’re starting to get wise to this Axian nonsense, it’s brought nothing but poverty, hunger and misery.”

“It will mean joining the attack on the remaining Axian garrison on Hesperia.”

“I will try and make them see reason, that way there need not be so much bloodshed.”

“Good, I’ll leave you to your duties, General.”

The three women entered the control booth and explained what had been arranged.

“Can we trust this new General?” Smetana asked Serena.

“Yes, totally. He is with us one hundred percent.”

He looked at her with one eyebrow raised. “I take it you used mind control on the poor devil?”

She gave him a scornful look. “Would you prefer that the men were left to die under the guns of your troopers, Mr. Smetana? We are only allowed to use our powers for good, I cannot perceive of any greater good than saving hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.”

He couldn’t fault her reasoning, but like Blas he had serious concerns about the agenda of these Orphexian women. He shouted for Biermann.

“Max, have a word with General Lars, then we’ll fan out over the city and mop up any hold-outs that are refusing to surrender. We need to get our forces together for the assault on the rest of the Axian garrison on Hesperia.”

“Do we know where their main force is stationed?”

Berg nodded. “Santuzza.”

“Oh shit,” Max muttered.

“Shit about sums it up.”

Santuzza had been the center of a project to develop a system-wide defensive base for the Spican System, before the Rescom Federation had come into being and made it unnecessary. Over the centuries it had decayed, becoming little more than an center manufacturing heavy industrial equipment as well as a training center for local Hesperian troops. During the Axian wars, the fanatical followers of Axia had heavily shelled it. There had been no time to repair the damage, it was a maze of streets filled with rubble, empty factory shells and hundred of miles of underground tunnels.