In the cover of the night, the Roman Legion prepared for battle. Catapults and trebuchets were prepared for the upcoming battle with rocks, bundles of cloth coated in oil, matches, and packages filled with shrapnel. The legion itself stood ready as well for their praetors order. Each cohort stood side-by-side, and the soldiers in the front lines gripped their gladii and shields grimly. The second line held their javelins, the third held their longer spears, and the fourth—children and/or legacies of Apollo, mostly—held their bows in one hand and the first of many arrows to be fired in the other.
The centurions stood with their soldiers in the ranks. Dakota Larson, Centurion of the Fifth, stood in the front row with his gladius in hand, while Frank Zhang held his ground beside a rather friendly daughter of Apollo, who was not acting quite as friendly, given the circumstances. Octavian, Centurion of the First, stood in the third row with his spear, while Michael Kahale stood in the second row and held his own javelin. The Veteran Cohort's Centurions held similar positions, as did the Centurions of the Second and Third. The reserve force was ready just at the bottom of the hill, in case they were needed for any reason.
Meanwhile, Jason and Reyna were prepared. The two mechanical dogs stood on either side of Reyna, who held her pilum from Bellona at the ready. Reyna's gladius was strapped to her belt, and she held her shield in her hand. Her shield was not as large as the other legionnaires' shields, but was a smaller shield meant only to protect a single person in combat, not the people around her. There were several daggers and other knives on her person as well. Jason held his regulation gladius in his hand and wished—not for the first time—that he still had IVLIVS (1), his magical sword and a gift from Jupiter for defeating Krios in the Titan War. A golden spear was strapped to his back, and he had several daggers within easy reach as well. Unlike Reyna, he did not carry a shield.
As Jason glanced at Reyna's metal dogs, he felt more than a little jealous. Bellona had given Reyna a golden mechanical dog when she became praetor, a silver mechanical dog when she successfully led the siege of Mount Othrys, and now a perfectly balanced pilum for accepting the mission to destroy the Graecī. Jupiter, king of the gods and his father, had given him a coin which could turn into a sword when he defeated Krios. And it broke while Jason was fighting a giant. It's because you fought for a Greek cause, a voice inside him whispered. The Imperial Gold of your weapon could not stand fighting alongside Greeks, so it broke rather than have to bear the shame.
At Reyna's command, the legion steadily moved forward. They were positioned in such a way so that when the sun rose, the sun would be in the Greeks' eyes. As it was, they would not wait for sunrise. "Fire the ballista!" Reyna called out. Suddenly, fire-consumed bolts were shot towards the Greek camp. One of them landed on the Big House, which immediately caught on fire. The other struck the Hermes cabin, which also caught on fire. The third landed in the forest, which would soon catch fire, and the fourth landed in between all of the cabins on the grass. Soon, fire would spread all over Camp Half-Blood. And Percy Jackson wasn't there to put it out. Of course, the Nereids might, but Jason tried not to think about that.
Within moments, there was panic all over the camp. But Reyna did not give them a chance to recover their senses. "Again!" she ordered, and more flaming arrows were shot. Once the Greeks managed to form some sort of defensive group, Reyna called for the next siege weapon. "Shrapnel catapult, aim for the group of Greek soldiers!" she ordered in Latin (2).
Jason almost winced as the first shrapnel projectile hit the group. Several of them tried to catch the projectile on their shields to reduce damage, but they were completely unprepared for the shrapnel inside the bomb. Several fell to the ground with pieces of shrapnel coming out of them. "Fire trebuchet! Aim for the cabins! Burn the camp to the ground!" Reyna ordered again.
It was done. Within minutes, almost all of the cabins caught on fire. Kids screamed as they ran out of their cabins. Jason watched several of the older campers try to get the younger ones to safety. "Aim for the woods," Jason advised. "That's where they're sending the kids and satyrs."
"Kids?" Reyna asked uncertainly. "I don't want to kill the young ones."
"I'll order it then," Jason replied. He squashed whatever sentimentality he was feeling for the people who had taken him in when he'd been a lost amnesiac with nowhere else to go. "Fire trebuchet! Aim for the woods!" he called out. Again, Jason watched as more of Camp Half-Blood burnt to the ground.
But he didn't have time to mourn for the place which took him in when he was confused. The Greeks were upon them, and they did not look happy about getting their home burnt to the ground. Jason and Reyna retreated behind the cohorts. "Turtle defense!" Reyna commanded. The Legion rushed to respond, and they were all instantly protected from much of the onslaught. "Offense!" she called out.
Jason had no idea how Reyna knew exactly what orders to give to the soldiers, but somehow it worked perfectly. The shields were shifted and weapons were instantly used to stab at the oncoming Greeks. "They're trying to flank us," Reyna muttered. "Jason, you take some of the reserve force and keep them from flanking us. I'll begin a wedge soon. Don't take too long."
"I won't," he promised. Then, he took off running. He took twenty soldiers from the reserve force and ordered the centurions to bring the rest to the other side. Jason led the veterans to the left and reached the ground just in time to incapacitate a small group of Greeks who were trying to get behind the Legion.
When he heard Reyna call for a wedge formation, he pulled the veterans behind the legion to protect them from any more flanking attempts. He left them in control of their centurion and then joined Reyna in the fray.
He found her practically leading the charge with her pilum, so he got in front of her with his gladius. "I don't need protection," she muttered as she knocked a Greek camper out.
"My weapon is shorter. This makes sense. I'm not trying to undermine you," he replied as he disarmed another kid and forced him to the ground. Jason blinked as he recognized the kid. Malcom Pace, Annabeth's half-brother. A son of Athena. "They're planning something," Jason said suddenly. "They wouldn't just send out Athena kids with no plan."
"I'll call for a report," Reyna muttered back before shouting in Latin. The Centurions replied almost immediately in Latin. "Nothing suspicious. Two deaths and several injuries. Other than that we're fine."
"This is strange. It's almost like they're not putting up a fight."
Reyna laughed harshly as she shoved another Greek to the ground and stepped forward. "We're the might of Rome, Jason. We'll always be stronger."
He shook his head. "We're missing the Ares cabin," he realized. "They're the best fighters in all of Camp Half-Blood. Where are they?"
Reyna concentrated for a moment, and Jason made sure that she wasn't attacked. "They're coming. Slightly to your left, trying to slink along the sides like cowards." She caught his gaze, and he stared into her dark eyes. Then, he nodded. "Catapults! Two more shrapnel projectiles to the left of the hill twenty feet in front of the Legion!" She screamed in Latin. Somehow, the legionnaires manning the catapults heard her. They hurled the explosive projectiles at the Ares cabin. Jason winced as he heard pained screams.
Finally, the fighting paused. Chiron, longbow in hand, cantered up to them with his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "We surrender," he said finally. "We surrender under certain conditions. We surrender to the might of Rome."
Reyna and Jason nodded. "Twelfth Legion of Rome, stand down!" Jason called out in English this time.
"Third and Fifth Cohorts, secure the camp! Round up any prisoners of war into a viable space to keep them. Collect their weapons and armor in their armory and keep it guarded!" Reyna ordered. "Do not kill or maim any campers without just reasoning. If you do, you'll have me to deal with!" Reyna commanded.
Jason scanned the Legion, then the ruins of Camp Half-Blood. "Second Cohort, your sole job is to guard the prisoners! Make sure no trouble arises! Let their healers attend to the wounded and let them bury their dead. Nothing more, nothing less!" He ordered.
"Veterans, return to our campsite! Pack it up and bring it to what remains of Camp Half-Blood," Reyna ordered.
"And the First?" Octavian asked.
Reyna then smiled rather cruelly. "Kahale, take half of your soldiers and deal with any trouble." She turned to Octavian. "Octavian, take the other half and search the cabins. I want every piece of important equipment or information or anything to be in Rome's stores. It no longer belongs to the Graecī, for we have conquered them."
"Reyna and I will go converse with Chiron about the terms of their surrender. If any Roman disobeys orders, Aurum and Argentum will eat him or her," Jason declared. The two dogs growled menacingly to emphasize the point.
Chiron nodded sadly. "This way, Praetors."
Reyna shook her head. "We will negotiate on our terms. Come with us, mentor of heroes."
So, dam. A lot happened this chapter. Well, I hope you enjoyed it nevertheless, so please review and tell me your thoughts!
~Nerd
1. Transliterates to JULIUS (it's named after an emperor, how cute)
2. I really don't want to translate this into Latin, but she's speaking Latin so that the Greeks probably can't understand her
