Asterix and the Centurion

Chapter 2- Into Battle

In the span of a week, the centurion transformed the relief troops from young immature boys into ready fighting men. Proud and emboldened by their success with their strict training, she and her troops rested well that night. Lea Regina's men felt they could conquer anything that got in their way, including the Gauls.

The next morning, Brutus's second-in-command showed up at the gates of the camp. The sentry left his post at the gate to inform Lea Regina whom was just waking up, "There's a man who wishes to speak with you, O Centurion," He said entering the tent in attention in the presence of the senior officer of the camp

"Thank you, Gracchus Metatarsus, I will go and see to him, now return to your post," Regina said fixing on her iron greaves and putting on her crested helmet. Her sapphire blue cape flew in the wind behind her like a war banner as she went out to meet him. The red cape did not surprise her as to whom the messenger served under.

She had her hand grasping the grip of her gladius at her side. It was a windy day that morning. Her long white ponytail flew around and whipped like the tail of a snake. The legionary Gracchus Metatarsus exited Lea's tent and went back to his post. The other legionaries on guard watched from the towers of the fortified camp.

"What can I do for you on this fine morning, O Centurion?" She asked the officer as he got off his horse to greet his host. He was a skinny man with a small beard and sharp brown eyes. Like Brutus, he had a red crested helmet. Lea Regina was slightly taller than him, not counting the fluffy blue crest on her helmet

"Greetings, I am Claudius Devious," He greeted her with a small frown as he looked around at her legionaries going about their daily chores, "Brutus sent me to check on you and your men," he stated, Lea Regina did not like where this was going, but welcomed him into her tent none the less since she did not want to be a bad host.

"By Jupiter, you really think your men are ready to fight?! HUH! They wouldn't last a minute against those Crazy Gauls! They will turn tail and ask for relief just like every other legion that enters those gates," Claudius boasted and scolded the officer, shunning her young legionaries. Her soldiers were not too pleased by the centurion's words.

"They completed their special training," Regina fought back defending her young troops, Claudius Devious turned a bad eye toward the female centurion. Even if it was Brutus's right-hand man, her loyal soldiers had their guard up. "If you put them up against the Myrmidons of Achilles, they will still stand their ground,"

"Those 'boys' you call legionaries are no fit for battle than you are to being their commanding officer, once Julius Caesar reads this report, He will see to it that you and your legionaries will never see battle," Claudius Devious stated boldly, Lea made a light gruff at him. They were not her Iberian Legionaries, but they were still her men.

Regina unsheathed her gladius from her side and pointed the tip at Devious's neck, "Be careful of your actions, Centurion Regina, you may be one of the Emperor's best soldiers, but I am in the service of Brutus," He said moving the sword to the side, "by the way, I got the position on my own instead wagging my tail to Caesar,"

"There is no room for 'dogs' in the Roman Army," He whispered into her ear. The female centurion put her sword back in her scabbard and signaled her men to stand back, "Now then I bid you a fond farewell, O Centurion Lea Regina," He said with a sinister toothed smile as he left her tent and untied his horse from the post,

"Oh, and one other thing," He said preparing to leave the camp with some final words, "semel servus, semper servus! ("once a slave, always a slave!")," He said to ruffle her feathers even more. He then got on his horse and left the camp as Lea's legionaries went up to defend their commanding officer with ready pilum and shields.

Quintus Terminus could see in her eyes that Lea was clearly angered, but she stood tall none the less, "It doesn't matter what you are, you are our Centurion and we will fight by your side to the last man," He vowed, speaking for the men under her command, "he's only one man,' He added to give her confidence.

"You are right, and thank you, Quintus Terminus," She said with a thankful smile and put a hand on his shoulder. When Claudius Devious was a fair distance away from her camp, she gave the order. it takes more than the words of a mere man to stop an officer like her, "prepare for battle!" She ordered heatedly to her men

Meanwhile, Asterix was watching all of this unfold from the branches of a nearby tree. He rushed back to the village and informed Chief Vitalstatistix, "By Toutatis, something doesn't feel right over at the fortified camps," the warrior said watching the events underfold between the two officers at the fortified camp.

"Let the Romans settle their own disputes, Asterix, we shouldn't let ourselves be bothered with their problems," Vitalstatistix replied sitting on his throne, "even if they are fresh relief troops from Rome," the chief knew of one man that would go into a frenzy over the news of new troops arriving from the capital of the empire

"ROMANS?! LEAVE THEM TO ME! LEAVE THEM TO ME!" Obelix burst out gleefully,

Asterix stopped him, "Be careful, Obelix, something tells me these Romans aren't like the ones we are used to fighting, even if we have the magic potion on our side,"

"Asterix is right," said Getafix the Village Druid, "we must not underestimate these Romans given the ruckus we've been hearing from Aquarium,"

"Bah, all Romans are the same, what could so different about these Romans anyway?" Obelix asked Asterix as the indomitable Gauls from the village were on the march to the Fortified Camp of Aquarium. From the watch towers, the guards could see a large dust cloud forming from the trail leading to the little Gaulish Village.

Back in the camp, Regina's troops were frightened by the thought of having to face the Gauls given all the terrifying things the previous relief troops said to them before they left beaten and bruised. Lea was a different kind of centurion, and knew how to rally her troops against near impossible odds and indomitable Gauls, "All flesh...is mortal"

The legionaries could see the Gauls coming out the village and were retreating back in fear, "Hold your ground!...Hold your ground!" Regina commanded in her armor with her flowing blue cape behind her, and directing her troops with her sword. She could see the fear in the eyes of the young soldiers under her command. Every soldier knows fear.

"Please, men! I am a soldier one of you, I share your blood and I share your fear, in these times, the enemy looks at you as frightened sheep, this is what we spent all those days training for!" She preached loudly to her men, an understanding began to go around the men. There was a reason they were the armor and arm themselves.

Her troops picked back up their shields and spears, "We must stand and fight, for you are wolves, you are armed with fangs made of steel!" She stated boldly to her men,

With her words, her troops began to awaken their warrior spirits, "Stand your ground!" She roared, the Decurion struck his gladius against his shield, "Stand your ground!"

Legionary Caius Falcus followed Quintus's example and struck his pilum against his shield. This was followed by all the troops in a single thunderous roar like the gathering of a storm as if they were disciples of the thunder god, "This is our time to prove that we are soldiers!" she said to her soldiers, their fear soon turned into a readiness for battle.

The sounds of crashing spears and swords against shields could be heard from the other fortified camps, "Stay in formation!" Quintus ordered the men

"Just because the enemy uses a magic potion, it doesn't mean they are braver or stronger than we are," Lea could hear a few cries from her men, crying out for battle,

"They're cowards! They hide behind the magic of their potion! They're human, their flesh is mortal like you and I!"

As the Gauls got closer, the crashing sound went from one single roar to three strikes of wood against steel. The legionaries roared their battle cries to her inspiring words,

"Listen to me! Stand your ground!"

"Fight for honor! Fight for your brothers-in-arms! Fight for those bore you! Fight for your children! Fight for your good family names!" She unsheathed her sword and raised the tip to the sky, "I bid you stand, SOLDIERS OF ROME!" She yelled regally. Her legionaries raised their spears and yelled a loud war cry as they got into battle formation,

"now let's show these Gauls what we can do!"

"Infantry form up for advance!" Quintus ordered as he put on his helmet and fastened his cheek protectors. The men got into two ranks of 25 and marched out of camp to the plains outside the spears standing and shields forward and at the ready, the army of 50 soldiers exited the camp in a full charge with Regina leading the way. '

Her legionaries were a sight to see in their ranks. As soon as the Gauls were in sight, she signaled her men to halt. She looked at her men with a small smile and unsheathed her sword. The shining steel of her blade gleamed bright in the midday sun. She looked at her enemy pointing the tip of her sword at the Gauls and gave the order,

"ATTACK!" She roared her loudest until her throat seemed hoarse and charged forward at the Gauls. Her young fighting men gallantly followed behind her in full attack.

It was strange to the Gauls that these Romans didn't show any fear in their faces, but the most striking thing of all was their commanding officer, "That centurion it's…it's a WOMAN!" Asterix gasped in shock, it was the most fearsome and beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her ferocity and beauty made her feared in Iberia

Lea Regina roared a loud and long battle cry as she and her soldiers crashed into the Gauls. But oddly enough, the Roman troops didn't go flying in all directions. Instead, they stood their ground like men like she trained them through their special training. it almost seemed like the Romans had successfully stolen the formula for the magic potion.

"I'll handle this…," Obelix growled and attacked the centurion, but Lea bested him with a knee to the chin and put him on his back. Neither she nor her men used any potion or magic, just pure fighting spirit that she instilled in them through stricter training. These were real fighting legionaries she trained to be the best of the best.

"Well, I never…well, I never…," Obelix said in a daze as Lea jumped over him. Her ferocity in battle was well deserving of the meaning of her name.

The chief was late to unsheathe his sword from his side, but managed to parry Lea's attack but was knocked off his shield in the process, "Front line…PUSH!" She ordered and her legionaries followed in the clamoring and commotion of iron and steel. Her legionaries were using all their strength to hold back the Gaulish onslaught with their shields.

Neither army was gaining nor losing ground. The battle had turned into a stalemate. The Romans under Centurion Lea's command pushed forward with all their might, but the Indomitable Gauls pushed back. The Gauls were not giving up easily, Fulliautomatix tried his luck against the most skilled warriors in the entire Roman Army.

He raised his hammer ready to crush her skull. Her blue cape flew over him like a giant wing with her sword concealed under it. She made a slash at his midsection, and his breeches fell down. "What a warrior," Asterix said admiration as he punched a legionary's shield with his strength, but the soldier still held his ground despite taking a beating.

Although beaten and bruised, Regina's troops held off the Gaulish assault seeing that most of her men had broken spears. It came down to a fight between the Lea and the Chief. Lea Regina and her troops were impressive soldiers. Her skill with a sword and warrior's heart brought back memories of when Vitalstatistix fought at Gergovia.

Lea Regina's legionaries and the village men gathered in a circle as the old veteran warrior and the female centurion faced off in a duel. She had a sharp gaze in her eyes that was as sharp as her blade. "That's quite enough!" Asterix said interrupting the two before their blades could cross. Asterix turned to the centurion in command of the Romans,

"Who are you, Roman?" He asked straight-forwardly,

"Lea Regina, Daughter of Caius Fatuous," She replied,"now if can be most gracious, kindly allow us to leave the field with our wounded,"

"Granted," Vitalstatistix replied, sparring the centurion's men. Oddly enough, not a single shields was bent nor damaged though her men were beaten and bruised.

"Move out!" She commanded and her legionaries went back to camp. Back in Iberia, it was a different tale; Lea Regina's former legionaries knew of Brutus's plan-of-action and were against him. An archer in the barracks sent a messenger pigeon with a note tied to her leg, "By Mercury, I sure hope this works," one of her legionaries whispered

as the little bird flew away under the cover of darkness. The next day, Lea's men were still recovering from their wounds, but the little pigeon made the journey from Iberia to Gaul as it flew into guard tower. Legionary Gracchus Metatarsus caught the bird in flight."O Centurion!" He yelled getting down from his post and running with great haste.

He entered her tent while interrupting Lea's meal with Decurion Quintus Terminus, "O Centurion, I bring news from the Iberian Front!" he panted heavily,

"Calm yourself, Soldier," She said putting a hand on his shoulder and read the message, "what? Brutus is planning to use my own troops to march on Rome and take Caesar's place as Emperor by force? This is an outrage!" She roared in a fiery rant, "I knew there was a reason that Claudius Devious came to this camp, Brutus is trying to break me,"

"That's not all," Quintus said, "Claudius Devious knows you were once a slave, Brutus plans to put the blame on you for inciting rebellion and have you thrown to the lions,"

"Brutus is not a moral man," Lea said putting a fist in her hand, "if he comes to power in Rome, he would stop at nothing to see to it that the Gaulish Village is destroyed," Lea Regina knew this was the only way. No centurion in the entire Roman Army had ever attempted what she was about to do, "I feel we must warn their chief, I will need you,"

Lea put back on her helmet and fastened the cheek pieces, "Terminus, see to it that the men are ready to move out, I will have a word with the Chief," She said mounting her black stallion and rode to the Gaulish Village, this was not only a matter of her own head, but also the safety of the innocent lives in danger in the Little Gaulish Village.