[Sol Date: 27 Augustus 3414 | Location: Swarm Home System, Planet S-WD7A9-002 | Primae Legio Solaris, Current Commander: Marcus "Will, of the Solarium" Terno]
The shuttle rattled as it dropped through the atmosphere of the Swarm homeworld, or at least what everyone hoped was their homeworld. Star System WD7A9 had been confirmed as the Swarm's home system. However, there were three habitable planets in the system. The past month of Marcus's life had been devoted to turning P-WD7A9-001 into a nuclear wasteland that would never allow the Swarm to retake it.
Marcus had his AI open a legion-wide channel and began speaking. "Alright, boys, if anyone has anything to say, now is the time."
Marcus waited a moment, and you could have heard a pin drop in the comms channel. "Good. Now, Star-Comm says we have 5 min to touchdown. So join me in the prayer."
Across the 40 drop shuttles, all six thousand members of the First Solar Legion got to their knees, and the thousands of members of the support squadron fell silent, knowing what was coming. As one, the voices of these ultimate warriors spoke, sending shivers through the spines of those who could hear.
"Gods of old, hear my prayer.
Mars and Bellona, Masters of War,
I beg of you one thing.
Let me slay the Swarm until my dying breath.
If you should take me, let it be in hellfire,
let it be on a pyre of a million enemies.
Bless me, Oh Great Gods,
Bless me and know
That in your names we slay,
in your names, we send off the souls of the Swarm
to eternal damnation.
And when I pass, allow me to be the jailor of the damned.
I go now, my gods,
unto fire, unto wrath, unto death.
I go now, my gods, unto holy war.
Bless me, my gods, as I cry out your names.
For Mars!
For Bellona!
For the Solarium!
For the Fallen!
DEATH TO THE SWARM!"
The last line caused the very shuttles falling through the atmosphere to rattle with the ferocity it contained. As one, the First Legion rose and took their seats. The support squadron also took their seats.
Marcus took a breath. "Take a moment and remember why you are all here. One hundred and twenty seconds to touchdown. Support squadron will standby until a beachhead is secured."
The commander of the support squadron, Castrorum Praefectus Titus, responded. "As you command Legatus Legionis!"
The two minutes that followed were filled with thoughts of only two people in Marcus's mind. His wife and his daughter. Both of whom had been killed by the Swarm.
His wife's voice filled his head. "Calm down, Marcus; I know you like to get riled up before battle, but you need to take a breath."
Marcus took a breath and mentally shrugged. The voice was real. Before her death, as an early anniversary gift, his wife had paid to have her likeness transcripted onto Marcus's suit AI. She had done it as a joke, but now Marcus clung to every word, feeling as if she were alive, even if only for a moment.
Marcus shook his head, slamming his inordinate willpower, for which he was so famous, down on his wandering mind and opened a channel to his Primus Pilus. "Centurions, when we land, I want Century's one through nine to hold the landing zone. Everyone else will enact Holy Fire Protocol."
The voices of his sixty officers, each commanding ninety-nine of their fellows, all responded. "Hail Legatus!"
Marcus took a breath. A notification went out, and he reopened the legion-wide channel. "Ten seconds to impact. Fight well."
Ten seconds later, the shuttles slammed into the surface of the planet, and the scream of the inertial converters could be heard, immediately followed by the sharp hum of the electrical dispersion coils taking the entire electrical charge built by an object falling from orbit, and sending it out through anything around the shuttles. This effectively killed all plant and animal life for a quarter-mile around the shuttles. Next, the massive deployment doors opened on the sides of the shuttles. And Hell issued forth.
As instructed, Centuries one through nine immediately began forming a perimeter. The rest of the Legion activated Holy Fire Protocol, extending their palms forward and letting their suits, in conjunction with their implanted AIs, open microscopic wormholes. The other ends of these wormholes were affixed to a ship called the Star Dipper, which currently orbited the Star in the system. Once the activation of the wormholes was confirmed, the captain of the Star Dipper fired the impulse drives and dived straight for the star's heart. The heat and radiation from the star were absorbed into the wormholes and almost instantly emerged from the microscopic wormholes in the hands of the Legion. The members of the Legion then simply marched forward. Cooking everything in their path. Sand and earth became glass and ash. Flesh became vapor, and everything in between burned. After fifteen minutes, the Star Dipper indicated that it would terminate in three minutes.
Three minutes later, the Star Dipper activated its gravity drives and rapidly accelerated to several times the speed of light and pulled away from the star, beginning the days-long process of cooling the ship's mechanism. Almost immediately, the Swarm fell upon the Legion. Marcus opened a line to the support squadron. "Titus, are you lot feeling froggy?"
"Hail Legatus!" Titus replied, "And I can see we have about a mile and a half to work with. Yes, I can begin. Give me three hours, and you will have a defensible compound to fall back on.
"Understood," Marcus said and then returned to the fight. Opening a channel to his Primus Pilus, he began issuing orders. "Century one and Century two begin providing relief to weak points in the line. Century three, begin rotating out those who need repair or reload. Everyone else continue to hold position, three hours, and we have a position to keep."
"Hail Legatus." They said.
This is how it went on every world. The Legion would drop in and burn away a large area of the Swarm. Then, the support squadron would begin building defensible positions. Once a base position had been established, the Legion would begin pushing out, slowly expanding the area they had cleared. As they cleared more and more space, the support legion would build automated defenses, and other legions, those equipped to hold land rather than take it, would arrive and take up positions to prevent the First Legion from being surrounded. It worked wonders, but it was a long and arduous process.
The only reason that it worked was because of Marcus. Marcus had created the First Solar Legion for one purpose: to kill the Swarm. Marcus had also altered himself in ways that no human ever had before. After losing his wife and daughter, Marcus had gene-spliced himself to the point that he no longer slept and could survive through almost any injury. As a result, Marcus could and often would fight for weeks on end with no rest. His suit supplies the necessary nutrients to his body directly. Often, the only reason he would stop fighting was there were no more enemies or his suit was so badly damaged that it could no longer support him.
This plan had been his brainchild, 'create a Legion perfectly devoted to killing the swarm and purging them from the multiverse.' And this plan was what took place for the next week and a half.
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[Sol Date: 7 Septimus 3414 | Location: Swarm Home System, Planet S-WD7A9-002 | Primae Legio Solaris, Current Commander: Marcus "Will, of the Solarium" Terno]
"Legatus, I don't like it," Titus said, examining the damage to Marcus's suit. "We have replacements and repairs for almost every single thing that could possibly go wrong, but that system, it is supposed to stand up to nuclear blasts, so we don't have extras. Gods, I don't even understand how it managed to get damaged."
Marcus looked at the sixteen-inch shield-like disk, called a phalanx shield, that usually sat between his shoulder blades on the suit's exterior. It serves one very specific purpose. It generates a hard-light dome capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. It is a rather simple device composed of a solid matter conversion battery and a tiny wormhole generator linked to a neutron star. This feeds Neutronium into the battery, which in turn feeds the hard-light generator. The actual mechanisms to do all of this are built on a molecular scale so that if they fail and the battery converts too much energy, it does not generate a black hole or any number of other horrible fates the egg-heads on earth warned them all about when designing it. To protect these tiny machines, the entire setup is placed into a solid disk of Tri-Tanium that protects everything and shapes the Hard-Light into a dome.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"Well, we can't stop a war just because my toys got broken. Order a replacement, and I will prevail with or without it." Marcus said, handing the device to Titus, who snapped a quick salute and turned sharply, and walked away.
Marcus rose and moved to replace the helmet on his head, returning to the front lines where he belonged.
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[Sol Date: 9 Septimus 3414 | Location: Swarm Home System, Planet S-WD7A9-002 | Primae Legio Solaris, Current Commander: Marcus "Will, of the Solarium" Terno]
"The Swarm is doing something new." One of the Centurions said with a strange mix of emotion, "I have never seen this before."
Another Centurion broke into the channel. "Legatus! The Swarm, they have broken through the seventh Legion and are raiding the munitions stockpile there."
Marcus thought for a moment, his AI already pulling up data on what troops were available and those that were closest. "Have the twenty-seventh Centruy pull back and deal with it. Tell the fifteenth and thirty-first to fill the gap they will leave behind. Rouse the ninth and get them back to work early. If we can, we will give them extra rest later."
"Hail Legatus!" The Centurions said before disconnecting from the channel to carry out his orders.
"What munitions were in that stockpile."
"Here is a complete list." The voice of his wife said, "Of particular note are the five nuclear devices. We ordered them to deal with any underground structures."
"That is noteworthy." Marcus said, a thought popping into his head, "Do me a favor and run an analysis on the odds that my phalanx shield gets damaged in the same campaign that the Swarm raids a munitions dump that happened to contain nuclear devices."
"that will take some time."
"I know," he said, his tone betraying how much this particular coincidence bothered him, "outsource it if you have to, but I want an answer."
"Very well, Marcus." She said.
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[Sol Date: 15 Septimus 3414 | Location: Swarm Home System, Planet S-WD7A9-002 | Primae Legio Solaris, Current Commander: Marcus "Will, of the Solarium" Terno]
"Legatus, I have good news. We are expecting a replacement Phalanx Sheild within the week," Titus said, ending his daily status report with this piece of information.
"That is good news, and I appreciate your work on this matter," Marcus said, his mind distracted by the chunking sound of his rail rifle as he fired again and again.
"Thank you, Hail Legatus," Titus said before terminating the comms- channel.
"What's the status of that analysis I asked for?" Marcus inquired to his AI.
"The Analysis is complete. Are you sure you want to know what I have determined?"
"Yes Please." The rifle made a whirring noise as he spoke, and in an instant, his body, running more on muscle memory than anything, had ejected the empty mag and slammed home another one.
"There is a 71.896 percent chance that these two incidents are related. There is also a 52.922 percent chance that these incidents were intentionally caused. Further analysis also revealed that there is a non-zero chance that these two events were intentional and will result in your death." The AI reported.
"What is the actual percentage on that last one?"
"23.756 percent."
Despite the concern that suddenly bloomed in his mind, Marcus did not stop firing, each round going through the head of a Swarmling.
"Can you determine who might be responsible?" Marcus asked.
"It might be possible, but it is currently beyond my abilities. If you were to acquire more information, then I may be able to find out if there is a connection to anyone."
Marcus grunted, reloading again and continuing to fire a never-ending stream of rounds downrange. Recently, after nearly three hundred years of combat, there had been a resurgence of some ecological types saying that peace with the Swarm was the only way. They regularly called Marcus and The First Solar Legion monsters. And they were right. They were a legion of Monsters that Marcus had assembled for one very specific task: to kill the Swarm.
A Centurion opened a channel. "Legatus, we have found this world's queen!"
"Fantastic!" Marcus said each planet had a queen, and when the queen was slain, the waves of telepathic pain and agony that she radiated would kill all of the Swarmlings on the world. "I am headed in that direction. Leave a minimum number of troops needed to hold the lines, pull the rest, and move on target."
"Hail Legatus!" The Centurion said, breaking communication and going to carry out his orders.
The next three hours were some of the strangest Marcus had ever experienced. The Swarmlings were fighting in ways they never had before. Swarmlings that would normally rush a target and overwhelm them with sheer numbers held formations and concentrated fire on weakened targets. It was the first time Marcus lost a Legionair on this world. The last straw was when Marcus received notice that a nuclear signature was on the move.
"Trace it," Marcus said, slamming the activation plate of a plasma grenade against his helmet before lobbing it a hundred yards into the middle of a strangely organized group of Swarmlings.
"It's heading right for you, Marcus." His wife's voice said. "Overwatch has confirmed the nuclear device is made from all five stolen nuclear devices. I recommend retreat as your Phalanx Sheild is still damaged."
Marcus nodded and relayed what was happening to the nearest Centurion, having him take over the press for the queen. Then, he began moving at speed towards the support squadron. His AI spoke up once more. "Why are you running towards the nuke?!"
Marcus opened his mouth to respond, looking around for any enemies that could possibly be holding the device. At that same moment, the ground crumbled beneath him. Marcus fell nearly a hundred yards, landing on his feet thanks to his beyond-human reactions and his suit working harmoniously to keep him upright.
"Get me the fuck out of here," Marcus demanded of his AI as he immediately began killing the mass of Swarmlings around him.
"Working on it. Nuclear device 500 feet and closing." Hsi AI said.
Moments later as, Marcus killed his way through the enemy towards one of the many exit tunnels he could see. Marcus felt the mental presence of a Swarm Queen. He looked around, and what he saw made him laugh out loud. The swarm queen had integrated herself into the nuclear device. She spoke then, using the telepathy inherent to her race. "You are the swarm-slayer."
The Swarmlings around Marcus froze, so he took a moment to reload as he spoke. "Yes, I have been called by that name by other queens of your ilk."
"You will not slay me. To kill me is to kill all those around you." She gestured at the nuclear device sticking out of her chest.
"I have survived nuclear blasts before," Marcus said with a sadistic smile.
"Yes, but not without your strange metal shield." The queen gestured to her own back, between her upper shoulders.
"True," Marcus said, then he subvocalized a command for his AI to begin streaming everything to his Legion.
"You leave, let me live, slay the high queen, I become high queen, I will not fight humanity. No peace. But no war." The queen said, mimicking the hand gestures that a human would make while speaking.
"You want me to let you live?" Marcus said, his hatred and rage boiling to the surface. "Do you know who I am? You call me the Swarm-Slayer, but I have other titles. I am Marcus Validus Terno, Fist of the Solarium, Hammer of the Gods, Will of the Senate! I serve to slay you and your kind. I have crafted this Legion to do one thing and one thing only! To kill your kind! So I only have one thing to say!"
Marcus could see two of his Centurions leap over the pit's edge, and he smiled. "Phalanx, Activate."
Across the entire planet, every anti-nuclear device, every building constructed to support the First Solar Legion, and every Legionnaire had a purple light shell burst into reality. The only exception to this rule was Marcus. He raised his rifle. Speaking quietly under his breath.
"Gods of old, hear my prayer.
Mars and Bellona, Masters of War,
I beg of you one thing.
Let me slay the Swarm until my dying breath.
If you should take me, let it be in hellfire,
let it be on a pyre of a million enemies."
Marcus saw the two troopers land, their hard-light shields active, unable to help or hinder him. He took sight of the queen, so confident in her plan, so confident he would not hurt himself to hurt her.
"Bless me, Oh Great Gods,
Bless me and know
That in your names we slay,
in your names, we send off the souls of the Swarm
to eternal damnation.
And when I pass, allow me to be the jailor of the damned."
Marcus saw more of his Legionnaires around the pit's rim, their voices taking up the prayer with him. The queen realized what was happening and moved to leave, only to find the two Centurions standing in the tunnel opening behind her, their shielding preventing escape.
I go now, my gods,
unto fire, unto wrath, unto death.
I go now, my gods, unto holy war.
Bless me, my gods, as I cry out your names.
For Mars!
For Bellona!
For the Solarium!
For the Fallen!
DEATH TO THE SWARM!"
Marcus pulled the trigger, sending a nearly relativistic tungsten round through the head of the panicking queen. She dropped to the ground, and then Marcus felt the warmth of the sun calling him home.
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[Sol Date: Unknown | Location: Unknown | Marcus "Will, of the Solarium" Terno]
Blackness was all he knew. He knew he was dead, yet somehow he had sensation, had interaction.
Next thing he knew, he dropped to the grey slate floor of a room that contained one other person. Marcus stood and flexed his body. He felt even stronger than he ever had.
He looked at the other person in the room and froze. His voice cracked as he spoke. "Adriana?! Adri? Its... Its dad. What... Why are... HOW?!"
The voice that responded was not what he expected. The voice carried a weight that Marcus could only describe as divine. As it spoke, Marcus grew angry. "Marcus Terno, welcome to the plane of Will. Please take a seat. I..."
The voice faded as it observed the rege building in Marcus. "You are not my daughter. Explain or die."
The thing masquerading as his daughter swallowed audibly as the strange plane of reality they were in seemed to quake as the Hammer of the Gods focused his entirety on the creature in front of it.