Chapter Eight (L + 8 days)
The early morning rain muffled the noise of the Contubernium?s movement as they headed deeper into the town. They passed house after empty house. For the first time since landing they had seen signs of battle. There had been several makeshift barricades on the town?s edge that showed signs of a fierce fight.
The Marines had twice taken cover as grav-tanks had cruised by. They were headed to the north edge of town where most of the noises they heard had came from. The paper map they had found in a nearby house showed a small star/airport in that area.
The Contubernium moved towards an eight-story hotel that overlooked the starport. They picked their way through its lobby and double-timed it up the stairs. They found a room on the top floor facing the right way. Metellus and Domitus inched their way onto the room?s balcony and used their optical binoculars to scan the area.
Metellus whispered to Domitus, ?at least we know where everyone went. Looks like seven or eight thousand people packed in there.?
Domitus grunted in agreement. ?Would be hard pulling a rescue with the whole Cohors, let alone the five of us.?
The field to the east of the starport had been turned into a huge prison camp. A double-tiered razor wire topped fence surrounded the area. Several armored figures patrolled the perimeter and every so often a pair of grav-tanks made a slow circle of the fence. There were tents everywhere, from small nylon domes to huge military types. Several temporary buildings looked to have been set up as bathing and toilet facilities. A long line of people stood outside a huge set of tents that looked like a military mess unit. The compound looked to be crowded, but not to an unhealthy level. They even saw several children playing a game of soccer in an open area.
Metellus saw a child kick a ball and it sailed over both sets of fences to land near a pair of nasties. The children froze as they watched one of the nasties stop by the ball and execute a perfect kick to send the ball back to the children. The kids went back to their game, a few of the braver ones even waved to the figures.
Domitus snorted, ?We could use him on the Cohortal team.?
Metellus looked over at him. ?It?s gonna be hard to rally support to fight them if they look like nice guys. I guess we should be grateful that they aren?t killing the civvies. We gotta try an? what?s going on over there??
They both watched a group of white-garbed figures gathering at the large gate area. An armored nasty appeared to speak to one of the people and the gates opened up. The group boarded several buses and the vehicles headed into town. They watched until they disappeared behind some tall buildings.
Both Manipularii backed into the room. Metellus opened up his map and pointed to a set of buildings. ?What do you want to bet they are headed to the Valetudinarium? Well if we are gonna be able to make contact with anyone in the camp, we should talk with someone who comes and goes. We need to find out if there are any of our Manipularii or those useless Army pukes in there.?
The men looked at the map and Varus pointed at a building near the hospital. ?Umm Principale... maybe we should be careful, that shows an Urbanae Armory. They might be guarding it.?
Metellus looked at him and rapped him on the helmet. ?Now you?re starting to think knucklehead. I already planned to detour around it, but just keep using your head like that and we?ll make a Manipularii out of you yet.? The troops headed out of the hotel and carefully moved down the street.
It took two hours of careful travel to get to the Hospital Complex. They watched a few ambulances come and go from the emergency bays. They didn?t see any nasties anywhere near the Hospital. They made a slow circle of the main building looking for an entry point. A heavy looking door that was screened by some shrubs looked like the best choice.
Ursus splashed across the empty parking lot and stopped for a few moments. A metallic creaking was heard for a moment and he waved the rest across one at a time. They found themselves in a stairwell. Ursus looked at Metellus. ?Up or down Principale??
Metellus pointed up the stairs. ?If we go down and get found we got nowhere to go, if we stay on the second or third floor, we can still dive out the windows if we need to.?
Domitus saw understanding in the other Manipularii's eyes.
You do it without even thinking don't you Metellus? he thought to himself.
You turn every situation into lesson time to help them survive. The Manipularii carefully made their way up the second floor access door. Metellus slowly opened it and peered inside. He saw a few Medicus? and Capsarius? moving around and what appeared to be some offices nearby.
Sunlight shone through a window and Metellus saw a shadow moving around inside. He whispered to his men, ?There is an office to the left, Macer you come with me. Domitus you be ready to back me up if I yell for you. If someone comes down the stairs, join up with me and we will get out of here.?
Metellus checked the door again and rushed through with Macer right on his heels. They rushed into an office and Macer closed the door enough to just peer out into the hall.
The white-coated man looked up from his desk with fear and confusion in his eyes. ?What? What? Who are you? What are you doing in my office? What do you want??
Metellus looked at a diploma hanging on the wall. ?Medicus Romanus, I am a Principale in the Manipularii. We were sent here to assist local forces in fighting the invaders.?
The Doctor gave a shrill laugh. ?Local forces? Well I am afraid that you are far too late for that. The Cohors Urbanae were all killed or captured in two days. They never stood a chance against the Siliconates.? At Metellus?s look of puzzlement the Doctor continued. ?The invaders call themselves The Assembly. They come from another arm of the galaxy.? Before Metellus could ask he said. ?No I don?t know how they got to this arm, I just know what I heard.?
Metellus thought a moment before asking. ?Have they said what they want??
The Medicus looked askance at him. ?That?s the question that everyone has been asking since they got here. I mean on one hand, they came in and slaughtered everyone bearing arms against them. But on the other hand, they were careful not to kill any civilians and have been especially protective of the young people and children. They are very strict about sanitation, cleanliness and medicine. They had the valtudinarium back on line the day after they took over here. Their... medical people have been talking about all the cures that they have for diseases and illnesses that we haven?t defeated yet. They are going to be instituting some new health programs among our people. They have been bringing plenty of food and supplies to the camp and they genuinely seem to care about the welfare of the people. They listen to any recommendations we make for the good of everyone?s health. I believe, as occupations in history have been this one has been remarkably civilized. They have told us that once they catch the last of the Legionarii, we will all be allowed to go back to our homes.?
?Legionarii?? Metellus asked. ?There are still troops around? Were they Urbanae or were they Legionarii? Where are they at Medicus??
The Medicus had a look of distaste on his face. ?Yes Principale, we have heard that most of the survivors of the Urbanae and some other Legionarii headed west to the Mons Scythian. But they won?t last long Principale; the technology of the Assembly is decades ahead of ours. It would be better for everyone if they just surrendered and spared everyone the pain and grief.?
Metellus smiled at him. ?The problem with that Medicus is that in my 34 years as a Manipularii, I was never taught how to surrender. I think any instructors we had that taught that class were sent to the Army years ago. Thanks for the tip Medicus; I think we have got to head out until we can link up with some friends. You take care of the civvies until we can come back.? Metellus turned for the door.
***
Macer, standing by the door heard a strange <pfftt>. He turned in time to see Metellus slump to the floor. He saw the Medicus with a strange weapon in his hand moving it to point at him.
Macer dove to the floor and rolled as he drew his Gladius. He heard another <pfftt> and felt something glance off his shoulder armor. He thrust the blade as he came to his feet next to the desk and cut the weapon in half. In a moment he had the blade against the Medicus?s throat. ?Do not yell Medicus, my blade is sharper than one of your scalpels. For killing my Principale though I am going to make you pay.?
Medicus Romanus looked at the long blade pressing against his throat and croaked out ?Not dead.?
Macer leaned in on the Medicus. ?You shot him in the back Medicus.?
Macer saw fear in the Medicus?s eyes as he answered. ?It was just a tranquilizer dart, don?t you see, this is best for everyone to...?
His voice trailed off as he saw the look on Macer?s face. Macer spoke clearly, his Hispanian accent barely showing in his anger. ?Medicus, you have 5 minutes to revive my Principale or I am going to do things to you that this valetudinarium will never be able to fix.?
Medicus Romanus looked into his eyes. ?I have to call someone to bring the antidote. I don?t have it here.?
Macer pointed at the comm, ?Call who you have to Medicus, but you will die well before I will if you call the enemy.?
The Medicus?s hands were trembling as he dialed the comm code, ?Sylvius, this is Medicus Romanus, I need a gurney brought to my office... yes another one... no just one... oh and please bring a dose of antidote... no I had to dart him twice and he is having a bad reaction to that much of the drug... yes make it quick.?
Macer smiled at him. ?Very smart Medicus. I hope for your sake that you are not being too smart.?
A few minutes later Macer heard a squeaking from the hallway. He pulled a grenade from his pouch, pulled the pin and moved behind the door. The look on the face of the Manipularii with a sword in one hand and a live grenade in the other made the Medicus?s bowels go weak.
A burly Capsarius opened the door and rolled a gurney inside. ?Hey Medicus, man you look like Pluto himself, I can see why you darted him twice, looks like a Manipularii, they are bad news. You want to hit him with this?? he asked as he held up a pressure injector.
Seeing the Doctor?s shake of ?no? he leaned down and injected Metellus in the buttocks. He removed the pack and lifted the Principale to place him on the gurney when Metellus?s hand shot out and clamped onto his throat. The sound of cartilage crunching filled the office. The Capsarius?s body began thrashing but ended in a moment when Metellus?s Pugio slid into his heart.
The Medicus reaching for his comm ended when Macer?s Gladius took his hand off. Then a quick thrust and the Medicus?s throat began to spurt his life out onto the desk to join his hand. The look in the Medicus?s eyes was of hatred for his own species and it did not take long for that light fade.
***
Metellus shouldered his pack as Macer replaced his grenades pin.
Macer's voice called him to the window. ?Principale, you better come and take a look at this.?
Metellus saw four APC?s heading down the road towards the Hospital. ?Lets roll Macer. We got a lotta miles to hump to get clear of here. Good job by the way on handling the Medicus. You had him pissin' his pants.? At the look on Macer?s face Metellus smiled. ?I could hear, I just couldn?t move, and I didn?t want to say anything to distract you, you were handling it perfectly. When we get out of here I?ll put you in for Optio.?
Metellus checked out the door and ran for the stairwell. He cut short the others questions and they ran down the stairs into the rain. The Contubernium headed to the nearest building across the way. They weren?t spotted near the Hospital but over the next few hours they had to take cover from aircraft and grav vehicles. It took them 12 hours of hiding and moving to reach the edge of town. Metellus checked his compass and led the Contubernium into the woods.
The evening rain muffled the noise of the Manipularii?s movement as they headed west toward the mountains, and safety.
