Loyal to What Pt II
Aleron, Montano, and every other Legion officer lining that open space before the platform stood completely still and silent after watching their Legate of 30 years be dropped into the Grand Canyon. The image of Legate Graham getting covered in boiling pitch before being set alight repeated itself again and again in all their minds as the silent seconds afterward passed. No commander there knew how to handle the display and it's believed that Lord Caesar himself didn't know how to handle it either. The world was consumed by more and more silence, a silence that was audibly deafening, a silence that completely covered the wind, the soft clank of those chains, and the fire that was slowly growing along the platform. Sometimes the loudest sound in the world is the complete lack of any sound, and all those soldiers in crimson learned that fact when they saw the image of their Legate face one of the most horrifying ends without a single sound in protest. Not the pitch, not the flame, not even the fall made their old Legate give a single sound, and that total silence was the most deafening sound anyone there had ever heard as the sun lowered further and further in the west.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the silence lessened as the hour-long seconds passed and all eyes continued to stare straight ahead at that platform being consumed by more and more flame. Aleron and Montano kept their gazes straight ahead, following the praetorian executioners slowly filing off and away from the platform as the fire grew. They watched the praetorians march across the space, giving Caesar their passing salutes before taking their places in the dictator's staff. A few more seconds passed as more sound returned to the world with the growth of that flame, something the duelists continued to study out of their peripherals. At last, after what felt like many years in those quiet moments, the sound of the soft wind had finally returned completely, and the crackle of flame increased in volume. With the sound of the fire growing, the blackened end where Graham stood slowly cracked and fell inaudibly into the canyon below while the flame continued to burn the rest of the structure. When the sound of that flame was loud enough, every soldier's eyes were still seeing the Legate's silent end and began wondering if the sound of the fire was actually coming from the platform near them or from the burning legate somewhere far below at the bottom of the canyon. For whatever reason, one seemed just as likely as the other.
All eyes from the massive force went instantly away from the flame when Caesar spoke from his lone position in the middle of the assembly. Caesar's voice buried the roar of that fire and the armed centurions along the ridge ended their stealthy attempts to search for the corpse of Graham below, instantly turning towards their lord in their machine-like way at Caesar's first utterance;
"Soldiers!..."
With each and every legionary and officer in the massive force staring at Caesar, they saw him alone in the center of that open space and the praetorians had already moved aside. Lord Caesar continued;
"... Officers of my Legion!..."
Montano, Aleron, and every officer Prime Decanus to Veteran Centurion lining the rim of that space before their lord was locked completely on the man himself whose face bore a terrible sneer. Pure determined evil and authority emanated from every pore in the aging emperor's body as he went on. With the image of their Legate's end still repeating in the back of their minds, Lord Caesar gestured to the flame-wrapped execution platform as he shouted;
"... That man! That creature! That thing! Was a complete and total failure! He failed each and every one of you here! He sent you into war for me to die without the glory you have been promised by himself, and me. His defeat, many of you were there, and many of you know his inaction in the face of changing battlefield circumstance!..."
He paused before resuming even louder, words dripping with anger and authority, "... I expect victory! Even in the face of defeat, I expect you all, all of you, commanders especially, to achieve your glory, your victory, my victory, even through death..."
He paused once more, looking back at the flaming platform as more of it crumbled into the canyon below. Aleron and Montano heard every word, and the minds of every crimson soldier there at Hoover Dam was thinking about the battle. They remembered the battle, where they were, who they killed, and every action they'd done that day while the words of Caesar showed them through a new lens.
Montano heard Caesar's words, remembered all he'd done in that catastrophic battle and the words of Caesar echoed in his mind, "He failed each and every one of you." Montano remembered that day and the image of Graham began to show Montano the truth of how Graham had betrayed him. It was through Graham that Montano was cheated out of the glorious and victory ensuring end that he'd been ready for since he first became a recruit. Montano just like everyone who fought at Hoover Dam, including Aleron, was alright with a battlefield defeat so long as they got the death that would've given glory to Caesar. Montano thought once more back to the battle and how he was certainly battered enough and covered in enough enemy blood to experience that end, but the horn call blared in his mind again. The duelist thought of the inaction, the frustrated conversation with Lucius, and saw the image of Graham's body wrapped in flame fall one more time as a tragic but determined smile grew on Montano's face. As that smile stretched across Montano's face, he felt his eyes narrow and felt each muscle in his face move to create a countenance that Caesar would approve of, but then he felt something else... Montano felt the weight of the steel mask covering his own. That metal expressionless visage was all he ever wanted his true face to say, but now that he wanted Caesar to notice his loyalty and dedication, it couldn't happen. The mask was in the way, and he would not dare remove it or move in general while Lord Caesar was speaking. For some unknown reason, this obstruction on his face didn't make him even angrier at the failed legate, instead, being stuck behind the mask made Montano even more internally confused and panicked as the reason he wore the mask resurfaced in his mind... This mask was a gift. This mask was a gift for all his exceptional service to Lord Caesar in New Mexico. A gift given to him by the man who led him to failure, who betrayed Caesar, who betrayed all who were denied victory at Hoover Dam. As Montano's inner battle continued on, Caesar resumed;
"... I ordered all of you commanders to the front to witness with your own eyes the end of that failure. You all will remember the details, everything you witnessed, and know that my Legatus Imperialis was only an example of what happens to commanders who abuse their authority and think their defeat can ever take the place of victory! None of you will ever hand me anything that isn't a victory through your blood or the enemies, and those of you who may be inclined to hand me otherwise will face the same humiliating end as that creature. Everything he had ever done for me or for you now means nothing since he thought he could cheat both you and me, Lord Caesar, out of ultimate glory!..."
Caesar looked back once more at the platform. The flame was now dying as there was not much left to burn once the flame had reached the rock. Another small piece of the blackened platform fell into the canyon and Caesar continued to look around the large ring of officers packed shoulder to shoulder surrounding him. The sun was finally resting just half above the western mountains and about to sink lower. The flame continued to die and the wood continued to pop and crackle when Caesar concluded rather softly compared to his rage fueled shouts from moments earlier;
Still loud enough for all to hear, Caesar said, "... From this moment forward, I will never hear that failure's name mentioned again. That fucking traitor never fucking existed... So let that be a final lesson to any servant of mine thinking about turning on me after all I've fucking done for you: You will be erased, and you will forfeit all the honor and glory you've ever achieved for me..."
When the final message had been delivered to the assembled officers, the idea of failing Caesar and forfeiting all they'd achieved for him was almost too much to bear for some. Many officers' goggles were fogged as each commander who saw the legate's end held back the physical expression of sadness at the mere idea of failing their emperor in such a manner. A long silence lingered after the last words were said and in the final sentence, the eyes of Caesar landed on Aleron.
Aleron believed that was the first time Lord Caesar had ever looked at him and momentarily felt the same shock that Montano did at the formation atop Fortification Hill, but Aleron felt the look on Caesar's face even more. Caesar's face met Aleron's eyes with the strangest expression of overwhelming sadness, rage, hope, hopelessness, authority, weakness, strength, and determination. The look was indecipherable, but Aleron was left alone to think about it when Caesar averted his gaze from him to others around the massive ring before the emperor finally walked towards the praetorian staff. That was it, Caesar was done, and the praetorian formation parted down the middle to make way for the emperor's departure without another word given. Another silence ensued after the dictator departed and the entire force to witness the afternoon was left without orders for a final hour-long minute.
As the silence lingered, Aleron thought about all the events at the Dam, how he fought, and all the chaos of that day before his mind finally returned to the execution once more. Aleron thought about what Caesar's words meant in relation to Aleron's own experience with Graham, and he thought back to that look as the words, "You will be erased, and you will forfeit all the honor and glory you've ever achieved for me" echoed many times before disappearing into a clouded mind. The centurion understood that the words were not directed at him specifically, despite the look, but as that expression continued to linger in his vision, Aleron found that the words were hitting him in a way that wasn't likely experienced by many others there. Aleron felt Graham on his left side almost exactly how he felt walking him to the platform and Aleron thought about the final order from Lord Caesar about all things related to the Legate, "he never existed." Aleron, as well as everyone there had seen and experienced the erasing of tribes that had betrayed the Legion, slaves that had rebelled, and even several commanders that had failed Caesar in some manner or another, but this instance seemed different somehow; not just for Aleron, but for all who witnessed the end of Graham. The idea of forgetting the man who'd led Caesar's forces to so many victories over 30 years seemed impossible to everyone there, even Caesar apparently if his rage was any indication of his internal feelings. As silence went on and on, many tried their absolute best to suppress the memories of the Legate who never existed, but each one of them failed Caesar in the accomplishment of this task. For what could be considered the first time ever, Lord Caesar's orders could not erase the memory of someone, solely because it was Graham. Even though all of them accepted the new title of traitor for their recently burned commander, the memories lingered, especially in the mind of Aleron as he reflected more on the impossibility of forgetting a man like Graham.
As Lucius the head Praetorian approached the center of the ring, Aleron saw the world begin to resume its course as he continued to feel that presence from Graham. There, Aleron remembered the final message his Legate communicated to him, "You do what you need to, but remember who I was," and with a mind still grappling with the impossibility of forgetting that man, Aleron accepted another defeat by internally asking himself the question everyone there was still battling: Are these memories a treasonous act? Aleron saw all of the exposed faces of centurions around the ring minus the few with gifted masks, but he knew all of them would forever continue to attempt victory over the impossible order to forget Graham. This was a battle all of them were eager to attempt till the day they die, all for Caesar, but Aleron was the only one who saw the futility in even attempting such a task as the final message from Graham echoed in his mind once more. The Praetorian Lucius had reached the center of the ring, and the aging praetorian stood there for several quiet seconds with a face emblazoned with the same feelings all the masked faces around him couldn't display. Before the praetorian spoke, Aleron continued to pour over that last message from his burned Legate and Aleron found himself thinking about all he'd done for the Lord Interfector. Aleron would never admit it openly, but he still missed the Interfector terribly, and so the duelist's mind was plagued with images and memories of everything his Lord Interfector had ever done for Caesar, but more importantly, for his friend the Legate. As much as Aleron too accepted Caesar's branding of the failed Legate, and as much as he felt betrayed by Graham's leadership at Hoover Dam, the memories of what his Lord Interfector and Legate Graham had done for the Legion were deemed too great to forget. Where all the soldiers around Aleron could not forget Graham for the victories he'd won and the ultimate failure, Aleron alone could not forget the Legate because of who he was to the Interfector. At last, Aleron thought about the conversation he overheard between the two men he subconsciously respected more than Caesar himself and how neither of them wanted the end they were expecting, but also how they accepted it wholeheartedly for reasons other than "Caesar." The puzzle had finally pieced itself together in Aleron's mind and Aleron saw both men completely resign themselves to their ultimate fates after lives dedicated almost entirely towards advancing the Legion. Even if Caesar wasn't discussed in the talk between Aleron's greatest heroes, the Legion itself was the unifying entity worth advancing in Aleron's mind, even if that meant disappearing into a dust cloud at The Divide or completely accepting a Legion inspired end without protest. When Aleron finally learned the true orientation of his heart, he saw the look on Caesar's face one last time, and understood it: Still dedicated and true to Caesar, Aleron understood that he himself was far more inclined to follow the example of his fallen heroes and their dedication to the Legion, rather than the man leading it. So, in his first ever act of direct defiance to Caesar, Aleron decided that he would internally recognize and value the lasting inspiration and memory that was "Joshua Graham" and refuse to discard or even attempt to repress that memory.
When Aleron's mind had returned to the world at hand, he saw all his brothers across the ring and studied the men in his peripherals, seeing Montano's continuing mental battle before his eyes landed on the tragic yet determined face of the praetorian Lucius in the center. The sun had not moved as it continued to hover half below the horizon, but night was coming, and the image of their flame engulfed failed commander would illuminate the darkness of many future nights as the Legion resumed its perpetual wars. At last, the world was permitted to continue spinning as Lucius the praetorian ordered;
"LEGIO!..."
The nearly six hundred sets of Legion eyes in the ring and surrounding formation instantly snapped to Caesar's current second before finally saying in a tone that matched the afternoon's tragic display, "... Return to your charge!"
At that, all the officers in the ring did an about face and returned to their forces in the surrounding mass.
A/N: Sorry about the delay in my posting! I was out of town visiting my sick grandmother two weeks ago and didn't have time to write outside of school, my finals, and work! However! I was laid off at my company I've worked at for 3 years the other day since we'd been going a bit under for a while, but I'll have plenty of time to write outside of the new job search! So that's good! :) Anyhoo, thanks for understanding, times are a bit crazy and I hope all of my wonderful readers are doing great! What I intended to be a two part section will now be a three parter, so I think you all will enjoy how this section of the story concludes in the next chapter! Take care and thanks for being great!