The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) by Kocho Trajchevski Page A

rush and swarm the human’s positions but as his legionaries rushed they were cut down by the humans. He had to give them credit they were fighting like beasts. He remembered the human slaves from the arena, and from the rebellions. He knew that these soldiers possessed the same inner strength but they were also much more lethal than the ones that were part of the empire. It was obvious that they are excellently trained soldiers.
    He knew that he was going to die. Several soldiers replaced the dead technicians and were now working at the missiles. They were almost there. As he turned to see the rest of the incoming legionaries he heard explosions behind them and then a huge wall of fire erupted behind his lines. It was obvious that the humans surrounded his forces.
    Stevens looked at the room below him from the glass. The marine’s obviously had the same idea as him and he could see that they had the aliens surrounded. The SAS teams were with them down there. He looked at the twenty men he had remaining. He lost four men while coming here as they were met by several alien groups.
    “Okay let’s finish this. Take positions on the balcony and open fire on the bastards. Zip, Halo, Ax, Rabbit take out the workers first then engage the rest.”
    Four of the seals stepped forward. They were the snipers of the units. As they moved to the sides the rest of the SF forces spread out on the balcony. On his mark they opened up.
    Kal el looked with surprise as the seven soldiers working on the bombs fell dead on the floor. Before he could notice from where the shots came they started coming from all sides. Human soldiers came from all doors. He knew that the battle was lost. And so did the rest of his men.
    The floor was black from the blood of the legionaries. Several hundred lay dead all over the room. The balconies were filled with dead legionaries and now humans were standing on the top balcony and firing down.
    The rest of the legionaries, about hundred and fifty of them looked at their leader. And he looked at them.
    “In the emperor’s glory we die.”
    He yelled from the top of his lungs.
    On those words all the legionaries stood up from cover and rushed the human positions. They were met with a storm of fire.  More than half didn’t even manage to make few steps before they were cut down.  As their ranks thinned the marines stood up and started advancing to meet them head on.
    Kal el never saw the human that killed him. A sniper shot from a fifty caliber round nearly took his head away.
    Not even a whole minute passed from his yell and the firing stopped.
    The marines and the SF teams looked at the carnage before their eyes. Hundreds of alien bodies laying literally on top one another filled the room. Their black blood covered the floor.
    Stevens looked at the carnage and nodded to the marine major.
    The major saluted.
    “There might still be some of them throughout the ship. We will check the upper floors, while your men check the lower levels. The rest can guard this room.”
    The major didn’t say anything he just gestured to his men and three platoons continued toward the back of the ship. The SF teams left as well.
    Jackson looked at his own men. In total thirty five marines were dead and additional forty three were wounded. Considering the death toll that the aliens paid it didn’t look like much but it was a hard toil. He knew that some of the wounded won’t make it. But the ship was theirs. And that was the important thing.
    He looked at the dead aliens. It was clearly that they were reptilians. He noticed the black armor.
    “I wonder…”-he mumbled.
    He knelt down and picked up one of the rifles that the aliens were using. It took him a minute to find the trigger. Then he aimed and fired at one of the bodies. He wasn’t surprised when the shot didn’t penetrate.
    “So that is why they looked so surprised when they started dying.”
    The comment came from the young lieutenant that he spoke