“Do we have any other losses?” he said.
“We’ve just started treating the casualties in the middle of the square,” Zoe said. “There’s plenty of supplies here, so we’re doing the best we can to save them.”
Medicine had made wondrous advancements during Augustus’ time on the mother ship. What used to kill a person could now be treated with tablets, to an extent.
Despite how clever the modern humans thought they were, just before the invasion, they still hadn’t found a cure for a metaphorical knife in the back. Aimee gave him that, and he would cure the pain by returning the compliment with a physical version.
One of Zoe’s commanders approached them. Augustus gave her a stern look. The man carried a strange white pistol with a silver disc around the front.
“Do you have something to report?” Zoe said.
“I found this in the old workshop. I didn’t think anything of it, until I pulled the trigger.”
The response piqued Augustus’ interest. He thought it was nothing more than a child’s toy. “What happened?”
“The alien next to me… He just dropped to the floor, clutching his support system.”
Zoe squinted at the pistol. “Is he dead?”
“Showed all the signs of suffocation. I couldn’t do anything for him.”
Augustus leaned forward and snatched it out of his hand. “Thank you. Get back to your duties.”
The man looked at Zoe, who nodded. He jogged away.
“That’s one of Mike’s prototypes,” Maria said.
Augustus crushed her arm between his bicep and forearm. “Is it now? You never told me about his exotic guns.”
She winced and tried to pull away. “It’s the only one he had. I think he called it a directed energy weapon. It targets the life support control system. That’s all I know.”
“It’s a little more than you told me earlier.” Augustus turned to Zoe. “Take me to see the casualties.”
Zoe returned to the square. Open medical packs were littered around four humans and eight croatoans, each receiving individual assistance from a member of their own species. It made sense to Augustus, but at some point in the future, they’d have to learn how to patch each other up in the field.
He walked to the nearest croatoan. A shuttle pilot crouched by his leg and wrapped a bandage around a calf wound. Augustus tapped her on the shoulder. “Stand to one side.”
The pilot glanced up, her face barely visible through her tinted visor, and clicked a few times.
“She says she hasn’t finished treating him,” Zoe said.
“Tell her to move to one side,” Augustus said. “I need to carry out a test.”
Zoe’s eyes widened. “You’re not thinking about using—”
“Just think of it as putting down a wounded animal,” Augustus said, and waved her to one side with the pistol. “I need to see it working myself, as part of my assessment. I can’t take the word of a grunt.”
She lowered her head, took a deep breath and turned away. The depth of feeling she displayed for the wounded croatoan didn’t surprise Augustus. Zoe had no concept of strategy. If this gun worked, the chances were that Mike and Mai had built more and would use them against his army. This brought a new dimension.
After securing a bandage, the pilot headed back toward the shuttle bay. Augustus aimed at the injured croatoan’s helmet. It clicked and scrambled a couple of meters, unable to stand. He took a stride forward and pulled the trigger.
The pistol kicked back in his hand and made a yawning noise. He held it in position for a few seconds, just to make sure, then dropped to one knee and closely observed. The croatoan reached around and gloved the back of its own helmet. Its skin crinkled and condensation built on the inside of its visor. Seconds later its body went limp. Maria gasped and cupped a hand over her mouth.
A shot of adrenalin surged through Augustus. He couldn’t believe how easily and effectively the thing worked. He kicked the croatoan’s leg to make sure it was dead.
Zoe looked from the croatoan to Augustus. “Do you need to test it again, sir?”
“No. Arrest Triplan and Kevin. Erect two crucifixes in the square and nail them down. Call a parade in thirty minutes. I expect them ready to be hoisted after my speech.”
He let go of Maria’s arm. “You can help her. It seems like you both get along.”
Zoe crossed the square, followed by Maria. She called out to a group of aliens around the hover-bikes, and they grabbed their rifles.
Augustus had a lot to consider after firing the weapon, and needed the quiet of his office to decide on the best way to proceed.
DULCE ET DECORUM est pro patria mori—a Roman phrase which when translated into English meant it is sweet and right to die for your country. Augustus always thought the translation lost the true meaning. It would be sweet and right for the army to die for him, and that’s exactly what a lot of them would do when they invaded Unity, but it was all a question of timing.
Two options were available. Wait, and train his incompetent force into a more deadly killing machine. That would risk Unity building up its defenses, leaving Mike and Mai time to create more of the pistols. They would be aware of his location after their raiding party returned to base, and would ramp up their operations.
The second option would be to attack as soon as possible. This would only give Unity a short space of time to react to the news of their impending doom. Thinking back to how Aimee ran the place like a backwater slum, they wouldn’t get a lot done in the time it would take to reach the outskirts of the godforsaken place. His army wouldn’t be well trained, and the casualties might be heavy, but ten thousand to two thousand made it a ratio of five to one. Augustus could afford to lose six thousand and still rule the place with good numbers.
Zoe gave her signature knock at the door. “I’ve got the army formed up and the crucifixes are ready.”
“Thank you, Zoe,” August said, feeling in a slightly more generous mood, now his mind was made up. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Jackson and his entourage would be rotting on an alien planet. The universe would be a better place after being cleansed of the unholy trinity. The father, the son and the scientific bore. Augustus resisted the urge to activate the prism and find out. Instead, he would make his final decision known to his army.
He straightened his mask and robes in the mirror and left his office.
Croatoans and humans were formed up in smart rows of fifty, covering most of the farm’s central square. A hundred flickering torches surrounded them, casting shadows of strength on the warehouse walls. Augustus strode along the gap in the middle of them to the front.
Two crucifixes lay on the ground at the front of his parade. A man and a croatoan had been nailed to them with earth spikes the surveyors used to use for testing. Blood dripped from their hands and feet. Seven soldiers stood behind each, ready to hoist each wooden beam into its posthole on his command.
Augustus turned to the vast array of expectant faces. “Tonight has shown you what our enemies want to do with us. Even now, as we mourn our losses this evening, plans are being made in Unity to wipe us off the face of the planet.”
Augustus paused and swept his hand across the humans and aliens. “You are the ones who will turn Earth into the Promised Land. I consider you all my brothers. We will not stand idly by and let them destroy the last chance we have for a peaceful civilization. Where we choose enlightenment, they choose darkness. We strive for freedom, they crave oppression. We move tonight and will strike a decisive blow. It starts with two Unity spies I found tonight.”
He held both arms aloft. “Victory will be ours.”