The Empire of the Zon by R.M. Burgess

Author:R.M. Burgess [Burgess, R.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zon Publishing
Published: 2013-08-29T06:00:00+00:00

IN ALEX’S ABSENCE, Deirdre had called a conference of the squad seignoras of the Guardian century and carefully briefed them on her plans. They were to take the first brunt of the barbarian assault and inflict as many casualties on the enemy as possible. She herself would be with the squad at the apex of the defensive arc. At the first lull, her squad would drop back to the inner walls of Eastshore, and she would communicate this on the comm. They were to follow her squad immediately, so that the next barbarian rush would stumble, like a man rushing at an open door.

Deirdre peered over a pile of rock debris into the night. Her night-vision created a ghostly scene. The barbarians’ point battalion appeared at the breach in the walls. The upraised torches of the leading scouts were clearly visible.

“’Grators at the ready,” intoned Deirdre on the comm. “Wait for them to mass. I want at least a hundred dead with the first blast.”

More torches appeared as officers moved about, forming their assault lines. Their drums began thumping a slow, harsh rhythm. A deep muttering arose from the host, which grew louder. Then suddenly there was the clash of cymbals and the muttering gave way to a deafening chorus of the Hilsons’ battle cry. The Guardians braced themselves as the point battalion charged, their long pikes extending out in front of them.

“On my mark,” called Deirdre on the comm. “Three, two, one, fire!”

Almost the entire battalion was through the breach now, and the leading pike points were only ten meters from the Guardians’ line. Even the combined crackle of almost a hundred ’grators was drowned out by the barbarians’ battle cries. In an instant, the battlefield was silenced. Over a hundred of the leading barbarians were vaporized in whole or part, and only charred remains marked what was left of them.

But the Hilson men had faced this before, and with a renewed battle cry, a second wave stormed forward over the bodies of their comrades. The disciplined Guardians waited for Deirdre’s mark and fired again in unison. Deirdre herself saw the officer directing the charge and got him in her laser pistol sights. She hit him, and her shot burned a deep cavity in his midsection, killing him instantly. The second wave faltered and the few survivors, many badly burned, fell back. Hilson officers tried to form up for a third wave, but their men had lost heart. They fell back, melting away into the night.

“The First Squad will fall back for the inner walls now,” called Deirdre into the comm. “That was very close—the next time we will not have enough power in our ’grators to hold them off.”

The Guardians filed back in disciplined formation, squad by squad. Deirdre waited till the last squad was past her before turning to follow. Then, to her horror, the remnants of the Hilson point battalion appeared in the breach for a third wave.

“Seignora, your squad to me!” she cried to the last squad.

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