Men of Iron
Chilles-45. A forest-covered planet with a myriad of dangerous but nonetheless captivating fauna. The heart of Caldor and his people, the Thibbians. For that was their world’s true name. Thibbia. Or at least it was before the Imperials arrived. The name of the planet represented the 45th world brought into compliance by Commander Chilles of the Terran Troopers. Compliance. He despised that word. It represented the concealed, power hungry nature of Aristokratia. As if the worlds they conquer are ever given a real choice but to submit. Caldor squinted up at the bright afternoon sky. It was time to return to base. His patrol was over.
As Caldor stepped into the warehouse- repurposed as a bar- he saw the table where military veteran Leon was regaling the younger soldiers with another one of his war stories. “...and then the damn creature screamed. Right in my face. Damn, thought my entire body would disintegrate from the force of it. Thank god for the medic; managed to salvage some of this ugly mug at least.” He pointed at his face and laughed, and the bar was filled with hearty guffaws. One of the young soldiers, a youth named Alexander, seemed eager to ask a question, and yet apprehensive as well. Leon, sharp as ever, took notice and, after a swig from his mug, gestured to Alex. “Speak boy. Ask your questions. I don’t bite.” Alexander nodded. “I...well, have you ever seen one of them? The Imperial Vanguard?” The bar grew hushed. Leon’s face soured, as if trying and failing to repress a terrible memory. “You speak of the Bellatores.” Alexander nodded hesitantly. Leon took a deep drink. “It’s fine, young one. It’s about time someone asked about those things.” “Things? They are people, are they not?” The question came from the back. “No. They are not. Not anymore. I’ve seen them fight. Seen them interact with each other as well as other soldiers. They are as much monsters as the creatures we killed on those battlefields. Each one possessing enough physical strength to bring down buildings several stories high, intelligence well beyond that of any normal human. But what’s worse is how they view us, their comrades on the battlefield. They walk past injured men without so much as a glance, as if we’re not there. I don’t understand the soldiers that hold them in such absolute reverence.” One of the older rebels scoffed. “Mutant or not, a man is just a man. We have enough firepower to at least hold off the Imperial ground forces. We’ve taken the tesla-cannon from the nobles. We can easily-” “You’re a fool,” Leon hissed, “and will die if you don’t change that line of thought now. We can’t go lax with the Imperials. But if the Bellatores are sent in we are positively doomed. They are parahumans of the highest calibre. Every wave of their blades can cleave apart armies, every spell they cast capable of destroying entire settlements, and psychic ability trained efficiently over hundreds of years. They are leagues faster, stronger and more skilled than any human soldier has a right to be. Do not trick yourself into believing we have the upper hand.” The bar had gone very silent. Leon sighed heavily. “I don’t want to break morale, but I won’t lie to you either. It’s very unlikely, if not impossible. But if the Bellatores were to be sent in? I suggest you all take your families and run as fast as possible.” Leon picked up a bottle of alcohol and retired to his quarters. Hushed murmurs passed around the room; some fearful, others calling the whole display a bluff and an exaggeration, and others going over the weapons they had on hand. Caldor sighed deeply. He couldn’t blame Leon for giving the men the hard facts, but he had disrupted the faith in the rebellion in the process. He made a mental note to talk to him about it later with their general, Andre.
Ajax ran up the rocky rise of land as he glanced down at his mates. “Hurry, we need to get back before my dad notices I’m gone!” The others chuckled. “It’s not like you’re gonna get in trouble.” Anastasia chuckled. Looked like the effects of the lotophagoi hadn’t worn off. A unique plant in Thibbia, the lotophagoi had peace-inducing properties that alleviate stress and pain. It was usually used for soldiers with grievous injuries but some also used it as a recreational drug. Ajax’s father, General Andre, did not approve of his reckless use of it, but he didn’t care. It wasn’t like his dad ever paid attention enough to ever catch him. As Ajax reached the top of the rise, he thought he saw a glint in the clouds. He squinted, and the dot of light grew in size until it became a massive fireball, crashing a distance from the group of teens in the middle of the forest. Anastasia was captivated by the fallen beam of light, and began to head in its direction, but Ajax grabbed her arm. “Anastasia, hold on.” She wriggled out of his grip and sprinted away, laughing. Irritated, Ajax followed her along with the rest, the whole bunch of them giggling and chuckling to themselves. As they approached the vast clearing made by the blast radius, Ajax hesitated. It felt like they were being watched. “Alright guys, let’s go.” His friends ignored him, still high. He was glad he hadn’t taken as much as they had. He looked over to the centre of the clearing and his blood froze. A drop pod. There was a drop pod in the clearing, which could only mean one thing. He began to back away. “Guys, we need to get outta here, now!” Anastasia stared at him, puzzled, as the pod entrance hissed open. Multiple bolts of light exploded from within the pod, blowing Anastasia’s torso to pieces. The rest froze in terror as a massive shape shifted in the flashing lights of the Imperial pod. Ajax ran. His friends, broken free of their shock and horror, followed close behind. They heard a massive figure follow, crashing through the trees with abnormal speed. Another blaze of light saw two others, Jason and Nicholas, collapse to the ground. Nicholas was already dead but Jason was still alive, his legs blown away. He flailed and screamed, crawling towards his freeing friends as an armoured giant broke out from the trees and crushed his skull underfoot. It was only Ajax and Orion left. They heard it coming as they broke through the forest, the gates of the rebel base in sight. Hope filled Ajax’s very being, and he willed himself to go even faster, even as his muscles screamed in protest. Streaks of light, now obviously gunfire shredded most of Orion’s limbs. He moaned as he began to bleed out. Resisting the urge to throw up, Ajax forced his head forward and kept moving. The guards stationed at the top of the wall had heard the gunfire and, seeing Ajax fleeing towards them, opened up the gate. As he ran in, he began to break into a sob and collapsed into the dirt.
A soldier ran into the living quarters of General Andre as he and Caldor were deep in discussion. He saluted, and hurriedly began to speak. “General, it’s your son. He and his friends have met hostile forces within the forest.” The soldier was uneasy. “We lost four children sir.” Caldor swore under his breath. The other soldiers present were enraged, picking up weapons and hollering, demanding the whereabouts of Ajax. All the men in the room moved out, the general at the head. Ajax was with the wall guard, shaken and looking sickly. Seeing his father, he rushed over and fell to his knees. “They’re here, pa.” He was wailing and spasms wracked his entire body. “The Imperials. They’ve killed them. They’ve killed her, pa.” The general knelt and held his son in a firm and close grip silently. He didn’t have to say anything. The atmosphere was tense and morose. Caldor took the lead. “Arms up! I want all defences manned and all soldiers up and ready. Move!” The soldiers saluted and got to work. Almost an hour later, the wall guard raised the alarm. “Unknown individuals approaching. Appear to be armed and...oh my god.” Caldor and the men with him exchanged concerned glances. “It’s them. It’s the bloody-” The transmission failed as a massive explosion rocked the wall. Caldor and his men raced outside, rifles at the ready. It looked like a bomb had been thrown at the wall; upon closer inspection, Caldor noticed what looked like massive bullet holes. But it couldn’t be. What manner of bullet did that much damage…A massive thump resounded throughout the courtyard as something slammed into the gate, almost tearing it off its hinges. The soldiers went dead silent, weapons trained on the gate. Another slam sent the gates flying onwards, flattening two soldiers in front into paste. The culprit stepped forward. A creature in the shape of a man, decked in maroon armour that looked far too heavy for any person to wear, standing at around nine feet tall. The rebreather on its helm was shaped like a hog’s snout, even bearing tiny tusks curving upwards, and it’s helm had narrow, angry-looking lenses for sight. It was like staring at wrath incarnate. As it took a step into the yard, the doors of one of the warehouses opened up, revealing the tesla-cannon, electricity snaking around its brass muzzle. As the cannon fired a massive ball of paranormal lightening at the intruder, some of the men smiled. No way any creature could survive such an attack point blank. The explosion blew apart the edges of the wall, digging a shallow but wide hole where the gate used to be. As the soldiers began to cheer, the smoke cleared. The giant figure began to march forward, its armour charred but completely unharmed. The cheering turned into shouts of fear and orders to fall back as the giant lifted its massive gun and opened fire on the soldiers, the gun shredding them apart like confetti. To the horror of the rebels, four more of the iron giants revealed themselves, mercilessly gunning down any rebels in sight. Five men threw their weapons to the ground and fell to their knees, whimpering. A second later red mist was the only proof they had been there at all. One of the soldiers picked up a sword and charged one of the iron men that had yet to draw his weapon. He screamed as he futily hacked at the armour, his screams silenced as it drew its own blade, cleaving him apart diagonally. One of the giants approached the shelter where the unarmed rebels had taken refuge. Caldor gave a war cry as he charged and opened fire. A bullet deflected off the armour into his thigh and he fell to one knee. He raised the gun to the helm of the monster as it approached him, gripping his arm and crushing it. Caldor yelled as he was lifted up by his broken arm and punched in the torso. He coughed up blood as his ribs crumpled, the fragments stabbing into his lungs and filling them with blood. As he was dropped to the ground, the last thing he saw was the creature break down the door of the bunker and go in, screams of agony and gunfire marking the death of the last true Thibbians.
Ajax sat behind a war vehicle, curled up in a ball as gunfire and death surrounded him. Terror gripped him; he could barely breath. He finally found the courage to take a peek around the vehicle. It was carnage. Not a single soldier seemed to have survived. He saw Caldor, a close friend of his father’s, meet his end at the fist of one of the abominations, and watched in horror as it descended into the bunker where some of the men, women and children unable to fight had remained. Tears streamed down his cheeks as the cacophony of screams pierced the dark silence of the yard. He looked around desperately for his father, but saw no sign of him. At least there was no corpse. There was still hope. Ajax began to move along the vehicles, out of sight of them. The Bellatores. He knew that was what they were. He had heard so many stories and myths. How they could single handedly decimate armies. He hadn’t believed it until today. He finally found his father lying against a wall, breathing heavily. A hole where one of the bullets had got him in the abdomen bled profusely. He held two rifles, and seemed like he was about to make a very bad decision. Ajax ran over to him. “Pa.” Andre looked at his son. “My boy. I’m glad but surprised you survived.” Ajax shrugged. “We need to get out of here,” he urged. “We can use one of the land-” Andre shook his head. “I’m dying, my son. It’s too late for me. Go, I’ll hold them off.” Tears welled in Ajax’s eyes as he father smiled at him. Then he felt it. A massive presence looming over them both. Shaking, Ajax looked up into the helm of a Bellatores, its massive rifle drawn. His bowels emptied, soaking his trousers. “Wait,” He began to beg, “please…” The armoured giant raised his weapon at father and son and for the first time since its arrival, it spoke. “For the Emperor.”
