The Legion
A Chaos Chronicles Short Story
August 14, 3240, 0001 hours
Sao Lao, the City of Three Rivers
The Dragon Kingdom, Mobius
Agent Scott rubbed his nose as he and Baulkner sat in the massive tree situated at a bend near the massive river. The ONI agent was not particularly fond of this hiding spot over the others that he and Baulkner needed to pass up. This time around, they had been assured that their contact would meet them here. Granted, this information was spotty at best and needed to be confirmed through both the radio of the Indomitable in orbit as well as a Royal Military communique. All the same, they had to wait one way or another.
Baulkner on the other hand was somewhat fond of their operation's location. The Dragon Kingdom was a different part of the planet that they didn't get to see very often, even with the massive amount of missions that ONI was sending them on all over the globe. From what he could tell, it was very closely based on China, though there appeared to be some favoritism towards the pre- People's Republic era – the time of the Emperors. What was even better was that the nation itself was actually not hostile with the kingdom, but all the same, they needed to be on the down-lo around here. This operation was technically unsanctioned by the UNSC, but they secretly gave it the go-ahead anyway and the Kingdom gave it their blessing.
Scott raised his rifle's scope to his eye. The optics had a night vision filter clipped onto it. The area beyond became green with sections of the foliage highlighted to show differences in the surface. Not far from here, nestled between two tall mountains was a town. A few lights were on in the wee hours of the morning, and several smokestacks were billowing grey streams into the clear night.
Scott had actually been to China one time back on Earth. It was hard to believe that there was any foliage left there as population centers spread out from their cores. Shanghai had spread far towards Beijing and were technically considered one city. That was only one example of the massive population of the country. Here, things were different. According to the maps, Sao Lao, the name of this small town, was situated somewhere close to what would be considered Yueyang on Earth. Two rivers fed into each other and then into the larger third where the city was based.
What ONI had said was that there was the emergence of cells of some sort. This group was small and was thus hard to track, but the consensus of the intelligence community – and Scott used the term lightly – was that there was some emergence of a terrorist cell of some form. Scott had to roll his eyes at the briefing in Knothole. Of course it was another terrorist cell. It was always a terrorist cell. All it had been for the past five years with some notable exceptions was the emergence of a terrorist cell that specifically hated Humans. Most of these movements were utter bullshit of course, but there was a few that were actually threatening enough to warrant close attention by the military. The last that Scott could think of was the Children of Mobius – an insane whack job cult that believed it was the goal of Mobians to eliminate all Humans on the planet, and then they got the idea into their heads that they could actually take on Earth and win. Their leader was even better. He actually believed he was a lion instead of a Human like he actually was. When he tried to let out that inner beast, it didn't go so well and he ended up somewhere in the middle before being put down by ONI agents. Granger was the guy in charge – another Mobian dude he needed to buy a beer some time.
There was a rustle down below. Baulkner raised his gun to his shoulder and sighted it. They were both silent. Their movements were muffled by their stealth armor. Down below, they could hear someone striding through the grass. It was probably a farmer or someone out for a late night walk.
"Can I drop this guy?" Baulkner whispered.
"Only if he sees us." Scott whispered back.
Baulkner thumbed the safety off his gun though, just the same.
"Put it down." A voice hissed from below. It was female. It was also in English, which was the second thing that Scott noticed. "You want a pass phrase or something like that…?"
"It's her." Scott said. "Intel said you'd be sarcastic."
Below was an Echidna. Even in the darkness, the light from the shattered moon reflected off her eyes. She was a bit taller than a girl her age, which was about 22 according to the file they read up on her.
"Julie-Su?" Baulker asked.
"You know who I am, who are you?"
"Scott. Mr. Trigger Happy over here is Baulkner. I trust you were aware we were coming?"
The echidna smirked. "I've been watching you two since sunset."
"The whole time?" Baulker asked.
"Every last minute… you two spend too much time out here…" she shook her head. "But as I understand it we have a job to do?"
"Yeah. Have you been watching the town as well?"
"For maybe a day or so. It's just like your average Draconian town, not that I'd know a whole lot about it. Albion's different. Not as many jungles."
Scott jumped down from the tree first. It was a good twelve foot drop. The armor cushioned the fall – arrestors near the bottom of the boots absorbed the force and saved his ankles and legs from suffering any damage. Baulkner followed after him, landing not a few feet away.
Su didn't look like a mercenary. Perhaps that worked to her advantage. Scott stood about six feet four inches. The Echidna barely came up to his trachea. Scott would scoff, but then he saw the large holster on her hip. It had a wicked looking weapon inside.
"Nice piece."
"You like it?" Julie-Su asked. "Worked on it myself. Think it may get a workout tonight?"
"Hopefully not if we're lucky." He looked the girl over. She was thin but whatever exposed part of her body had a fair amount of toning underneath. She was strong, and appeared fast. The gun only helped her intimidation factor. It seemed like there were a few traces of something on her body. Something just at the base of her neck.
"See something you like?"
"Were you hurt?"
"What? Oh." She rubbed the scar at the base of her neck. "Part of something my family tried to get away from. With…" she stared into space. "…some success." She looked like she had something she didn't want to talk about on her mind. "Burning moonlight, gentlemen." She said. "Can we get moving?"
"Lead the way."
The jog to Sao Lao was not quick. The jungle was thick with foliage and the black flies that swarmed around the jungle stung as they moved. Julie-Su had the lead though and didn't seem to show any signs of slowing down at all. She leapt over the logs as she moved quickly and they tried to keep up. Eventually they came to the bend in the river where Sao Lao lay. It was hard to believe that this was a potential hotbed of terrorist activity.
"Have they told you any of the rumors?" Julie-Su asked.
"Like what? We've heard a lot of things."
"Robotnik's escaped prison."
"No kidding."
"Was going to happen sooner or later. Problem is, people back here have heard about it. And it's been getting followers."
A branch from a tree slapped Baulkner in the face. He shoved it out of the way. "That maniac has followers?"
"It's not Robotnik. Not really. It's other people. He wasn't the only major player on Mobius."
"Who's that?" Scott asked.
"Someone some of us wanted to forget." Su said touching the scar on her neck.
The bridge leading to the town was empty, as was most of the streets that soon followed. Su brought her gun out of her holster. It was a twin-barreled thing that seemed almost like a sawed off shotgun. Su flicked the safety of the weapon. "You can look, but don't touch. Follow me." She made her way to an alley off the main road. The entire town seemed small. But the difficulty came with the cramped spaces in between the homes. Some of the houses were even connected with some sort of walkway on the second level. Down here, trash was heaped in piles that would be collected in the morning by whoever the civil servants were. Scott and Baulkner had their own weapons up but they weren't willing to shoot civilians.
None of them were.
There was a noise. Grips tightened and stances lowered. Both the ONI agents flicked their safeties and were ready to face whatever rounded the corner. To their surprise, a small cat entered the alleyway. The creature had knocked over some trash and had startled the three. It sat in the middle of the alleyway grooming itself for a minute or two before walking around, trilling to itself.
The Agents plus Su waited another minute in case an owner came around looking for it. When nobody else entered the alley, they moved on.
"Target building is a three story pagoda-like structure." Baulkner said quietly. "Maybe a hotel. I can't read Chinese."
"No, that's right." Julie-Su said. "Spies are saying that the people in here have been accepting large bundles of technology of some sort. They're not sure what. Technology isn't really all that common out in these parts. This is just a fishing village."
"Seems suspicious." Scott said.
"More than a little suspicious. Give me a boost. I want to get up there."
Scott made his way to a partition and positioned himself to give the echidna a hand to get onto the roof. He snapped the safety on his gun, got down on a knee, and cupped his hands at his waist. "OK. Go."
Julie-Su got a running start and placed her foot right in Scott's hands. The ONI agent forced himself up, driving Su above the partition and onto the roof of the building. She turned and extended a hand down to let the agents up. Scott grabbed her outstretched hand. He was surprised when she could hold his weight.
"Got a good grip on a pipe here. You'll be fine. Just climb!"
Scott pulled himself onto the roof. Both he and Su brought Baulkner up.
"Thanks." He said. "I can see the building there." He pointed about two hundred feet away. The building was taller than most in the town. It was decorated with gargoyles on the edges of the roof and its tiles were slanted. It almost looked like a temple, and hexagonal windows were lit every now and again. What they were focused on was the top floor.
"Across the roofs. Let's go." Su said. "Quietly. They may have guards."
"Guards? How well armed are these guys?"
"They definitely have weapons. Rifles mostly. I'm more concerned about the people though. They're weapons too."
They crossed a narrow alley on the rooftops. They made the jump easily. The clay tiles of the roof below them seemed to provide enough friction for the trio to make their way safely.
"I don't understand." Baulkner said. "What do you mean the guards are weapons?"
Another rooftop later, Su stopped them. "Get down."
There were what appeared to be vent covers in the roof. It obscured view from some of the surrounding buildings, and the shadow from the moonlight could cover them all.
"Alright, I don't know if ONI understands the gravity of the situation yet, but these people are dangerous. Very dangerous. The people these idiots follow… are more than a little cult-y. They have a belief that technology makes them powerful. These people are indoctrinated, Agents. They're sick in the head. To enforce loyalty… they give you a couple of gifts." She lifted part of her hair. "This? This was their gift to me when I was a little girl. That right there is where a small but powerful explosive used to be. As small as a quarter, with as much power as a cruise missile."
Scott's mouth dropped just a little. "They put bombs into you?"
"When I was still an infant."
"Jesus Christ." Baulkner breathed. "They're really maniacs aren't they?"
"They called it the Dark Legion. They tried to overthrow our government, but their leadership escaped. Looks like they're back, and this time, Robotnik may be working with them."
"We don't have time to fight another war." Scott said.
"Why not?" Julie-Su asked. "You don't know what these people have done to me and my people."
"I understand. I really do." Scott said. "I have a daughter too. I couldn't stand it if something like that happened to her… but we really can't fight another war when we have to worry about the Pr…"
"Hey Scott: now's not the time." Baulkner said.
"What's going on?" Su asked.
"Classified."
"I'll find out eventually." Su said. "No secrets from me, boys. Now, if you'd like to pry further?"
"Nah, I've had my fill."
"Then we're going to have to focus on climbing now. You have any rope?"
"Yeah." Scott said, now moving again. "What about you?"
"I can manage." Su said taking the lead again. "Let's go."
There was only one incident involving a civilian. When the tower was less than fifty feet away, an old canine came to the roof to water plants. He may have been in his eighties, but it was tough to tell with the fur. He had droopy whiskers and tired eyes that had half-moon spectacles sitting in front of them. He was humming some sort of song to himself as he watered the plants in the moonlight. Su motioned for them to follow her and move around the old man, but as chance would have it, a distant sound caught the man's attention. He turned and saw three heavily armed people standing right behind him. The old man dropped the watering can that he had in his hand and began to mutter something frantically.
"Shh!" Su said raising her finger to her mouth. It didn't seem to work. The man just got louder and seemed to be ready to call for help. "Put your guns down!" She hissed. "Do it now! Show him we're not a threat!"
The agents complied. The man though didn't calm down.
"Sir. Stop." Baulkner said.
"He's making a run for it!" Scott said.
The civilian was clearly spooked and ran to the door. Baulkner made a reach for him and grabbed the man by the tail. The old man yelped, but Baulkner wrapped his other arm around the Mobian's neck. The frantic noises stopped, and Baulkner held tight. The old man tried to struggle, but in his age, he could barely fight off a teenager. Baulkner waited about twelve seconds. And then waited for the arm to drop. The man stopped struggling. He was unconscious. The crickets of the surrounding area continued their song, and only the distant sound from a far off party were present on the air.
Baulkner lowered the man to the ground gingerly. "Sorry, buddy." He said. "Wished that could go another way."
"You didn't kill him did you?" Julie-Su asked.
"No. Just choked him out. I hope I didn't."
"He looked pretty old."
Baulkner checked for breath under the spotty nose. He felt some. "He's fine. Gonna flash him though."
"Excuse me?" Su asked, suddenly confused.
Scott pulled a tube-like device from his belt and placed it to the man's eyes. The pupils were dilated, but responded to the flashes. He did this for each eye.
"What did you do?"
"Synaptic flashing. Gets rid of some short term memories. We've had this forever. Pretty useful for making ourselves invisible. Kills a few brain cells in the process, but it's not like he had much left. He'll wake up in half an hour thinking he slipped and bumped his head. Bless him."
"That was scary." Su said. "Alright, let's make for that tower."
It didn't take long, maybe only a few minutes more. Su reached the base first which was the second floor. The building had three rooms on each side of a central stairwell which meant that there was a fair bit of climbing space.
Scott and Baulkner pulled out their climbing cables which were mounted on high tensile mini-bows. The handheld devices launched a drill that carried a weave of nano-tube into the very top section of the roof. The shots embedded themselves into the masonry. When the charge was deep enough, secondary clamps drilled lengthwise into the stone to further secure it. Baulkner was the one who wondered if the structure would be enough to hold them, but as they ascended, it proved to be stable. Su brought her own equipment, mountings on her boots and gloves that allowed her to grip the walls. It was probably some Echidnan technology that allowed her to grip, but not dig into, the material. She climbed almost as fast as the agents were traveling upwards.
Within seconds, the trio were on the third story's roof. This was something of a platform that was on the same level as the hexagonal windows. Light came from a couple of them.
"VISRs." Scott ordered. Both agents retrieved what looked like ballistic glasses from their belts and slid them on. They created a pulse that penetrated thin material like glass. The pulse pinged several targets. In the room directly in front of them, two humanoids were lying in the bed, presumably sleeping. A third individual was showering in the room two windows down, but the most important was on the other side of the building. No less than six humanoid targets were up and about walking.
"I think we have them." Scott said. "Opposite side window, right side."
"Moving." Su said, carefully tiptoeing around the roof lip. It was a nearly fifty foot drop to the ancient cobblestone road below them. They were empty save for one or two people walking far down the way. They were in little danger of being spotted in the darkness. It was peaceful as well. A warm breeze blew from the mountains, kissing the faces of the two agents. They retrieved their guns and this time, they were ready to fire. Su brought her own shotgun up. "I'll fire on your order."
"Got anything quieter?"
"Yes." She put the gun away, but grabbed a knife on her belt. "A little quieter."
"Wait on us." Scott said. He went around Su and nearly stumbled on the clay tiles. He had a brief moment of terror as he got close to the edge. Best case scenario, he broke a leg. Worst case scenario he landed on his back, or God forbid, his neck and die instantly. Neither happened as he rounded the corner quietly. Baulkner followed him with no sign of worry. He was a pro at these sort of movements.
The VISRs picked up something new this time: electronics were pinged by the devices as a yellow-tinged object. It appeared the size of a large trunk.
"Found your tech." Baulkner said. "Looks like they've got some merchandise they're looking over."
"We stop this now." Su said. "The Legion won't come back."
"On that we agree." Scott said. He got into position. The window where the six targets were spotted had a curtain in front of it. It couldn't hide them men inside. Another pulse revealed that part of the men was consider electronic by the system. More than enough evidence to pin them as Legion. They had weapons too – extended red splotches on the HUD that had curved magazines.
"Baulkner, stack up."
The other agent got on the left side of the window. "Julie-Su, you come in right after us."
"OK." She said. "Say the word."
Scott nodded. "Stand by to breach and clear."
"Standing by on your go."
"On three."
Su tightened her grip on the knife.
"One… two… three! Breach!"
Scott fired two rounds into the target in his sight. The suppressed weapon coughed as it sent a pair of subsonic rounds into the room straight into the center mass of the first red blob holding a gun. He smashed through the window. As soon as his friend was clear, Baulkner opened fire on two targets. He squeezed off four rounds from his weapon, the final one landing on the Legionnaire's head, spraying the wallpaper behind it with blood.
The remaining three hostiles were taken completely by surprise, shocked by the sudden appearance of two armed Humans coming through the window. Their weapons weren't even at the ready. They were even more surprised when an echidna armed with a knife charged through the broken glass. The first one was taken down by a knife to the chest that was pulled through the cybernetic heart. Su pitched a throwing knife into the gut of the second Legionnaire and finally pulled out her gun and fired a burst of two slugs straight through the midsection of the final attacker that was about to raise his weapon. The blast from the small gun was loud in the relatively small room.
"Shit!" Scott said. "What the hell!"
"Sorry!" Julie-Su said. "I wasn't thinking! I was just…" She saw the Legionnaire that she tossed the knife into move. She aimed the gun again at his back, pulled the trigger and obliterated his heart.
"What are you doing?" Baulkner said. "He could have talked!"
"Bombs, remember? They could set that off at any moment! Take no chances! Well? Search the place!"
"Not smart using that hand cannon!"
"We don't have time to argue this!" the echidna said. Search the electronics! Get a name, or a location, or something like that!"
Scott looked through the box of electronics. They looked like they were cybernetics. Eyes, arms, feet, and chips that looked particularly wicked with spikes. Scott hoped that these weren't the bombs that Julie-Su was referring to. He found something – a handwritten note, or a bill of lading, or something that seemed to be connected to where these things came from. He looked it over.
"Oh this is bad." Scott said.
"What?" Su asked.
Before he could answer, there were shouts from the stairwell. Someone was trying to come up, and they sounded angry.
"We're about to get company very soon!"
"Let them come!" Julie-Su said. "If it's a Legionnaire, I'll give them my regards!"
"No stupid hero crap! Exfil now!" Scott said.
"Aye aye!" Baulkner said.
"Alright." Su said.
The door was blown down and armed cyborgs stomped in. They stood as tall as the agents with part, if not most of their body replaced by cybernetics. Cloak and hood disguised their nature. They were very much armed, though these rifles were different.
"Cover!" Scott ordered, just as the weapon started firing. A blob of plasma burned through the wall leading into the bathroom. He smelled burning ceramic. "Oh, they have plasma cannons. That's just wonderful." He pulled two grenades off his belt, primed both and tossed them. "Bang and clear!"
Twin cracks went off. Su popped up from her hiding place behind a couch and blasted two Legionnaires as they were stunned by the flashbangs. Their enhanced optics overloaded from the bright light. Holes the side of a fist were punched through them, knocking them down instantly. However, it did not kill them.
Su attempted to follow up with another shot, but the leader's plasma ball incinerated half the couch and set the wall on fire. She cursed and ran for the bathroom. She dropped both tubes from the gun and replaced them, swearing with every step she took. Finally, she rolled into the bathroom and tried to take a position, aiming through the new hole in the wall. She made a tempting target for the Legionnaire. This particular soldier, who appeared to be nearly entirely cybernetic, took aim, before being surprised by Baulkner, who had been hiding behind a table he had turned over. Three shots were fired – two in the chest and one in the head. The cyborg stumbled back and tumbled over the railing, hitting multiple beams on the way down. If the bullets didn't kill him, then the fall certainly finished the job.
Suddenly, one of the Legionnaire's eyes started glowing.
"This is going to suck!" Su warned. "They've armed a bomb! Third guy on left!"
Scott fired without thinking from the bathroom. He nailed the Legionnaire in the head, but it appeared that the bomb was still armed and it wasn't going offline. The limp body of the equine tumbled forward, spilling blood onto the carpets of the hotel. The eyes seemed almost like crimson high beams. Su was about to call for a retreat, but then the bomb went off. The implanted explosive detonated with the force of a large propane tank exploding. The device completely annihilated the upper body of the Legionnaire, shooting shrapnel in all directions. Then the fiery explosive came next, blowing part of the rooftop and some of the staircase away. Screams from the other hotel rooms were barely heard. Fires started all throughout the hotel. Mostly in the stairwell. Lights started to spring on outside with crowds gathering to see what the problem was.
But more of them kept coming.
"Pull back now!" Scott ordered.
Su fired a few more rounds into the coming cyborgs, but ran out of ammunition again. She agreed that now was the time to go. This time, all of their eyes were glowing.
"NOW'S GOOD!" Su screamed.
"Come here!" Baulkner said. He grabbed Su and held her tight.
"What are you doing?!" She asked, incredulous.
"We're jumping! Come on!"
She didn't have time to protest. Baulkner ran for the widow with the echidna firmly held against him and leapt, back first, out of the window. Scott followed them, feet first.
Baulkner and Su fell to the roof below them. The ONI agent hit the flat part of the roof with an explosive grunt. His back was injured, but Julie-Su was unharmed.
"Are you OK?"
"Yeah." He lied. "Let's go!"
Scott landed before Baulkner finished his sentence. He tucked his legs and rolled. He was otherwise unharmed.
"Get clear! Tick tock!"
They barely managed to see the Legionnaires standing at the window before the entire section of the hotel vaporized in flame and shrapnel. A concussive wave slammed them, and they could feel parts of them stinging with small fragments of wood, and possibly bone hitting them.
The hotel was completely destroyed above the second floor. If anybody was in those rooms, the Legion's hardware destroyed them then and there.
The townsfolk were alive now. Crowds were coming from their homes. It was a good time to make a getaway from there.
"Thanks for the help." Su said. "Thought you were getting fresh for a second."
"Anytime." Baulkner said with a twinge of pain in his voice.
In the pandemonium of it all, nobody saw three ghosts run away from a tower in flame. Whatever passed for a fire department was on their way. In the bright lights and face pace of it all, they were invisible as they crossed the bridge back into the jungle.
They kept running for the next thirty minutes and didn't care about where they went. They simply moved. When they couldn't move any more, they simply drop. In this case, it was around a pair of toppled trees. A few nocturnal birds were chirping in the dark. The moonlight was enough to give them some brightness. The trees were ghostly white in the glow of the shattered mass in the sky.
"Oh hell." Scott finally said. "That could have gone better."
"Those people are dead, aren't they?" Julie-su said.
"Probably, yeah. Shit."
"Hey, we're OK." Baulkner said. "In a manner of speaking."
"Are you OK?" Su asked.
"Yeah. That fall wasn't good for my back. I'll be fine."
They sat again in silence for a minute before Baulkner, lying on his back and looking at the stars said, "Well, at least they didn't get the rest of those cybernetics. That would have sucked. Probably could have shanghaied a few kids off the street into being cybersoldiers."
"That reminds me." Su said checking her weapon before sitting on one of the stumps of the tree, "what did you find? That note."
"Oh!" Scott said. "Yeah, I saved that." He reached into his pocket. "This is scary." He said, pulling it open. "Listen to this: 'We have our army. Requiem awaits. –F'."
"Did that just say 'Requiem'?" Baulkner said.
"What's Requiem?" Su asked.
"Trouble." Baulkner said. "A whole lot of trouble. It's about to get worse if that note is even a fraction accurate."
"But who's 'F'?" Scott asked.
"Someone who should have stayed dead." Su growled. "Whatever this Requiem thing is, I'm coming with you to find it."
"We need a fleet for this; not a group of three people."
"Agent, this is personal. I don't care if I'm cleared for this. We're not even here officially." Even though she came up to Scott's clavicles, she was still threatening. "This is going to be a nightmare no matter how you slice it. If the Legion's got enough power to work on other planets, you'll need everything you can get on them. If that means I need to go to this… Requiem place… then I'm going to do it."
Scott and Baulkner looked at one another. This was so beyond classified, but she was an expert on the Legion… having survived them as a child was more than enough of an argument for them."
"We take you, you're going to see some freaky stuff." Baulkner warned.
"Agent, I've BEEN that freaky stuff at one point in time. Whatever you're going to show me isn't going to scare me."
Silence again as Scott and Baulkner thought it over. "The more the merrier, right?" the latter said first.
Scott nodded. "OK, I'm going to clear it with ONI. Today you're a mercenary. Tomorrow, you just may well help us save the galaxy." He grabbed a special smoke grenade off his belt, primed, and threw it. It landed a dozen feet away and started to billow green smoke into the jungle sky. All they needed to do now was wait for evac, and after that, then they could figure out how to take the fight to the Legion.
/END TRANSMISSION/