Ashes Page 15

  General Hostilius stared after the rapidly receding spectre of the drones in abject misery; such a weapon resisted all attempts to contain it. That was one of the principle reasons no current research was permitted into biological weapons. The containment of an outbreak was so utterly disproportionate to the potential gains that even a mass air strike would be preferable. In fact after a biological weapon was released perhaps the best way to contain it would be via an airborne barrage of incendiary devices. One might as well skip straight to the incendiary devices and save the hassle of wondering if all the microscopic threats had been eliminated.

  It appeared that the city of Rome had been cleared of human occupants prior to the arrival of the convoy; the wind whistling down the deserted roads and highways with ne’er an object to impede it. Small quantities of dust swirled in the eddies of the air currents, twisting and turning in forgotten corners. For a sprawling metropolis, the silence was unnerving and put the observer in the mind of a curse enacted by the God that had been worshiped here in revenge for all that he had since endured. The column moved onto the deserted Highways that lead to the central complexes. The modern structures comprised of box-like functional structures that slowly metamorphosed into buildings designed more for their artistic qualities than their mere functionality. White marble became more apparent and the number of religious buildings increased. Devout Sol Invictines made various signs of devotion for the disconcerting effect of a deserted city and the bastions of a dead or dying religion were a distressing combination. An air of wrongness pervaded the air, which only increased as the column moved further into the city.

  At the centre of the city complex was a vast earth covered area. It was unusual for a city to have unused space in the centre untouched by human hand or even plant life. The area looked as though it had been contained within a pedestrian square but the square had been removed. A massive crater dominated one side of the square, as though whatsoever that had stood there had been scooped out of the very earth by a gigantic hand. As the column grew closer to the crater it was evident that a more careful excavation had taken place with straight edges and corners being observable as the distance fell and the perspective did not blur the hole into massive proportion.

  The soldiers used this open area to settle the prisoners at first for it allowed a clear staging area while more permanent solutions were constructed. The prisoners sat in huddled groups on the ground in loose family units surrounded at the edges of the square by soldiers. The square slowly filled as the column grew shorter its final destination swallowing its personnel, feeding its giant belly. The squads took guarding positions at the perimeter of the prisoners until at last the square was full and the soldiers were positioned around the exterior of the square. The soldiers looked uneasily to their commanding officers as it became clear that there was no compound to house the prisoners and no-one to hand them off to.

  “A portable compound will be arriving shortly. Secure your section of the prisoners in one of the nearby buildings. These will serve as temporary accommodation until it arrives.” crackled the orders over the comm-link.

  As the abandoned buildings were secured and filled with the prisoners the oppressive weight of the deserted city lifted partially and the squad looked forward eagerly to visiting either the Capital City, Invictus for a period of rest and relaxation, or at least one of the nearby cities. The march was over and they could now hand over custody of the prisoners to either the local contingent or whatever other force would be assigned to this soon to arrive compound to be established in the bones of the abandoned city.

  “What’s the first thing you’re going to do on R&R Gurges?” asked Cato, an assault trooper, of the sniper.

  “What do you think the first stop on an R&R is going to be?” Gurges laughed “I’m going to a Library”.

  Cato looked at Gurges in confusion.

  “For Invictus’ sake, I’m getting a drink. You really thought I might go to a flipping library? What type of pathetic looser do you think I am? I’ll find the strongest drink I can to help me forget this entire Invictus cursed march. I have tasted nothing but dust since that damn storm.”

  Cato nodded. The memory of the bodies dropping into the storm despite the squad’s best efforts still appeared in his dreams, though not as frequently as it had in the vicinity of Jerusalem. The sooner he could be rid of both the prisoners and the memories the better. He let Halberdier Gabinius enter the building adjacent to the one that housed their portion of the prisoners.

  Halberdier Gabinius reached the roof of the former office block and took a deep breath of the much fresher air. The dust of the abandonment had not yet permeated this high up. In fact the air was, given the size of the city, cleaner now than it had been for some time, as humans were not generating so much detritus with their machines and movement. After a brief stretch he settled down to observe for signs of either escape or assault down the main streets of the metropolis. He surveyed first the North of the city, for if a force was following it would come from the same direction that they had arrived from, but there was no sign of pursuit. He then turned his attention to the South. There, on the edge of visible distance with the scope of his sniper rifle a squat grey mound sat on a hill. It looked fresh, as though it had been recently constructed.

  “Gabinius here. There’s a large concrete structure to the south, conforms to the standard for an Imperial Military bunker, with secondary lines. Awaiting orders.”

  “Maintain position. We are aware mobile structures are on their way, more permanent additions would have had to have been constructed prior to our arrival. Observe only, it is probably only a part of the complex we are expecting and will be utilised in containment.”

  “Understood.”

  Lieutenant Gratius was not overly concerned about the presence of a concrete Imperial bunker, despite the fact that it indicated a more permanent compound than he had been led to believe. Once the mobile compound pieces arrived and were assembled to provide a secure complex to house the prisoners, the local contingent could take care of guarding the prisoners. His men then would be free to enjoy some R&R, and before being sent to their next assignment. Hopefully, a nice quiet Hell-world. Aquilinus had never thought that he would look forward to guarding over the poverty and desolation of a Hell-world, but compared to this march it would at least be peaceful and he knew that the criminals that populated such worlds had received a trial under the laws set out by Invictus. Most of the criminals were abjectly honest that they had committed the crimes they were accused of and bore their imprisonment with dejected stoicism.

  A rumble of tracks woke him from his reverie and he turned to see the arrival of vast transports carrying the walls and other components required to construct a prisoner containment complex. The wire fences with razor wire toppings were placed on the top of the other materials. Lieutenant Gratius groaned, he hated Imperial razor wire; some poor idiot always got slashed when unloading or otherwise handling it. The gloves never seemed to offer enough protection, although more than was afforded than by not using them.

  Lieutenant Gratius was about to order his men to assemble for construction duty when the comm-link hissed into life. “Assemble the prisoners for construction duties in the square.”

  Lieutenant Gratius gave the order, but was puzzled. It did not seem prudent to have the prisoners construct their own detention complex, and surely, the possibility of constructing an escape route into the complex would enter into at least one of the prisoner’s minds? He would have to be extra vigilant when over seeing his portion of the camp construction to make sure no such mechanisms were embedded in the project.

  As the soldiers guided their detainees to the square a Black Guard member stood directing each prisoner to various areas of the square. Men were sent to one area, women to another, children to yet another and the elderly to the final area. Women screamed as their children were pulled from their arms. The men attempted to push to reunite themselves with their offspring and the
children were carried in a conveyor belt of Black Guard to their assigned area, tears tracing lines down their stained cheeks. Some of them still clutched stuffed toys that had barely survived the march. Those parents who struggled overmuch to retain their infants were beaten over the head with rifle butts and shot as they lay gasping in widening pools of their own blood. The majority of the prisoners, however, allowed themselves to be pushed and herded into the respective groups created by the Black Guard. The largest part of the Black Guard stood by the children and elderly, the prospect of violence to these two groups serving to control the remainder. Calls of “This way, rat” echoed out across the square as the Black Guard separated groups that spanned several generations, segregating people as though they were cattle. It was clear that the Black Guard no longer saw these people as human.

  Colonel Marius watched dispassionately as his troops sorted and separated the prisoners. He was not in the least bit happy with the orders given by the Investigator as to how the prisoners were to be treated. It went against everything he believed in, everything the Temple had taught him about the compassion to be shown to those who refused the Empires doctrines and held to the old faiths. Why keep them alive? It would be more efficient to simply exterminate them now and let them be sent to the Hells for their impudence in rejecting Sol Invictus. That was the only mercy that he had been taught would be appropriate for these animals. They had forfeited their right to be human by their blasphemy. Even better, some of the explosives he had been assigned was unused. This vast stain on humanity could have been removed in a fraction of the time by sealing them up in one of the disused buildings with the explosives primed and detonated. In fact he could have achieved some part of efficiency by sealing them in those heretical “shrines” in Jerusalem before they were eradicated, never to be used as a symbol against the Empire again. Still it was meet that at least the prisoners would at least perform one service to the Empire before they met Sol Invictus himself to be punished.

  Lieutenant Gratius stared with incredulity at the sight of a heavy assault squad from the Black Guard making their way to the group of elderly prisoners. Why station them there? They were the least likely group to make any trouble. The prudent course would have been to station the heavy troops with Gatling cannons by the men. The women would not make a move for they would not risk leaving their children to face whatever fate the Empire had planned on their own. The men, however, would be potentially more aggressive and likely to take rash action. The elderly, by comparison, could not hope to tangle with armed men and hope to achieve anything; they were too decrepit and starved to put up much resistance. They could barely stand; they certainly would not have survived much more marching on the rations that had been assigned them; especially as they had insisted on donating so much to the children.

  The scene before the squad seemed to slow as the march of the heavy troops stopped. The black carapaced soldiers executed a smart left turn, their right feet meeting the ground in perfect unison. The rumble of this precision manoeuvre echoed round the square as it halted all other sound. Everyone turned to see the following actions as though hypnotised. The black soldiers were wearing regulation gas masks that hid their features and matched the rest of their armour. The effect was chilling; these were no men, but inhuman creatures of terror and the night. The entire uniform was designed to be a vision from a nightmare of a depraved man. As one, the Gatling cannons were moved to firing positions a ninety-degree arch of movement that seemed to take an eternity to complete. Realisation came in a tidal wave to Lieutenant Gratius as he realised that the soldiers were facing the elderly prisoners who were simply standing and staring at the hideous visages in front of them. The gas masks even appeared to sneer in contempt and derision when faced with the people they so despised. First one barrel rotated one click to the left and then another. Again and again the first click from each gun registered with Lieutenant Gratius. As he glanced at his men he realised this scene was washing over them in the same way it was him. Each click seemed to provoke a wince from each of the men under his command. Looking to the other squads; they too shook and winced as the clicks reached them. Although they all turned from what they knew would soon follow, their eyes remained fixed on the scene in front of them even as their heads and bodies slowly turned as though shielding themselves.

  A high-pitched whir formed from the increasing number of clicks from the guns levelled at the elderly as the barrels spun round faster and faster so as to reach maximum rotation before the onslaught began. The multiple barrels of each gun became a blur and the inevitable drew closer the faster the barrels rotated. Eyes glued; the men of the Imperial Guard felt the bile rise in their throats and threaten to overwhelm them. It rose so fast it seemed that it could overtake the projectiles that all knew were coming but were helpless to prevent.

  An elderly man moved in front of a woman the squad could only presume was his wife. The futility of the gesture was only outweighed by the indefatigability of his sacrifice. His body slammed backwards into the woman spinning her around, almost knocking her from her feet as a red spray covered one side of her face. The crowd of other elderly prisoners obscured where he fell. The staccato explosion of the first shot echoed around the square, soon joined by many others drumming out a terrible beat that saw prisoner after prisoner thrown back into their compatriots. Rivulets of blood ran down towards the pit that had previously housed the foundations of the Temple now standing in Invictus. The elderly fell as though reaped by an unseen hand, row after row falling prey to the deadly rain that lanced into their ranks. There was virtually no movement as they stoically met their end, knowing that they bought the other prisoners a brief sojourn with their sacrifice. The eyes all remained firmly fixed forward, a quiet acceptance of courage in the face of certain death. Soon a sea of bodies was seen in front of the dwindling field of surviving prisoners, their limbs contorted in unnatural positions. The impact into their briefly surviving friends and family gave them a mockery of life in their final resting posture.

  The guns did not silence until the final elderly prisoner was mowed down. The Black Guardsmen then proceeded to walk among the dead like behemoths of vengeance firing upon the vast field of corpses to make sure each last one was indeed dead. The bodies convulsed under the onslaught, this mockery of their humanity too hard to bear for those watching. The members of the Imperial Guard, now free of the compulsion to watch, turned away, sickened at the wanton and wholesale slaughter and ignominy of those that lay bleeding and dead, twitching from the momentum of the bullets that shattered their mortal remains.

  A cry rise into the dark silence from the group of children. “No!” as Mya was held by an older child from rushing not to the aid of the elderly prisoners, but to Calidius squad; her hands raised in supplication. Begging for them to do something, to make this not be.

  With a heavy heart, Lieutenant Gratius turned from the crying child, shame making a heavy burdensome home within his breast. He could not bear the tear stained eyes to bore into his being any longer. What had been a pleading stare, imploring him to act, had turned through the many emotions of realisation of betrayal. She had disbelieved, but finally she was disgusted, almost as disgusted as he felt with himself. Even Sergeant Curtius stared at his boots unwilling to meet the moral certainty of that stare. Halberdier Amatius ran round a corner and the sound of repeated retching could be heard for several minutes as the remainder of the squad stood shell-shocked at the harvest of death that lay before them.

  Chapter 12

  Red lights began flashing in the bunker as General Hostilius ran into the control room.

  “What in all that is holy is happening now?” he yelled as the klaxons started to wail.

  He watched the screens tracking the probes, for he knew that in all probability whatever was causing the lights and sirens to go off was connected to the probes.

  “Initiate containment sequence” ordered Investigator Celeris calmly. “It would appear we have an issue with the probes.
”

  General Hostilius grunted under his breath, he knew that a machine entrusted with the most deadly bio-warfare weapon yet found by the Empire, at least as far as he knew, had definitely been a bad idea. The containment procedure would further deplete his already stretched forces, but at least the affected area would plug the resulting hole in his lines for him. The puzzling part was what had happened to the probe to make it malfunction and release the bio-agents early. The targeting was designed to operate without the need for GPS or external assistance. They were designed to be a fire and forget solution, once released it could be assumed that they would continue to their target. Even EMP’s would be ineffective due to the faraday cage that surrounded their electronics, shielding their vulnerable workings. Now he would be forced to shoot anything or anyone coming from the contamination zone, even his own troops. Another disadvantage would be the fact that his surviving troops would be required to wear full Hazmat gear, which would limit their effectiveness, as their field of view would be severely curtailed by the protective masks. Even though the masks were designed with the latest in HUD and anti-glare technology peripheral vision was lost, hearing was muted due to the interference of the cocooned environment.