Chapter 14: Crushing the false goddess
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Lanius spent two days performing slave sacrifices before finally emerging from his tent to give orders on how we should proceed against this tribe, which had elements of pre-war technology and excessive tribal traits.
During this time, I became Lanius's advisor on dealing with the large number of robots this tribe possessed.
"Whatever Diana is, she has… machines that fly above the atmosphere and send orders to the robots. So there's nothing we can do to prevent her commands from being transmitted. We should probably target the relay towers, but we must avoid wave attacks. We outnumber them—we should split into several groups and hit multiple important points simultaneously. Each attack group should have anti-tank rifles, taking advantage of the pressure on their command," I said to all of Lanius's officers as we studied the map the Frumentarii had drawn.
"That will make it difficult to coordinate our forces in case they encounter the tribal army," Lanius added.
"I have a few spare radios that I can distribute. They're short-range. With the permission of Centurion Nicodemus, I've coordinated with other Decanii to do exactly as you suggest, Legate Lanius. The tactic here is to exploit their inferior numbers, so tactical flexibility must be given to all Centurions and Decanii. That way, we can distribute the radios I have and coordinate multiple forces to overwhelm the tribals' responses," I added, pulling out the radio from my backpack.
"That goes against the tactics Caesar has established for dealing with tribals," one Centurion commented.
"We're doing what the Romans did best… adapting. With every enemy we face, Caesar's tactics can serve, but you as commanders must assess the battlefield. You shouldn't blindly follow a book of tactics—you must read the battlefield and find the way to cause the most damage with the fewest losses. If we use manipular formations, we'll face all the robotic forces head-on, and thousands will die. This way, we preserve what's most valuable—veteran soldiers—so we can continue our conquest to the north," I replied to the Centurion. I was surprised by the somewhat astonished faces of the Centurions when I touched on the topic of Rome.
"Decanus… many here don't have as much knowledge of the great Rome that Lord Caesar seeks to rebuild as you do, as you've demonstrated an extensive understanding of them," Lanius said, crossing his arms as he looked at all his Centurions.
"Well, what I mean is that what Lord Caesar has established are just tactics that every commander should know. But, obviously, as the heir of Rome, he will allow you to modify the tactics to adapt and overcome your enemies in battle. Instead of losing thousands of legionaries, we can keep them alive and preserve that experience for future battles against more dangerous enemies," I concluded, hoping they understood the general idea.
Despite the resistance among the Centurions, I had gained something inside Diana's temple that made things much easier—the trust of Lanius. His influence made everything simple since no one wanted to anger the Champion of the Son of Mars.
One order was all it took for us to start using independent group tactics. The only downside was that my radios were requisitioned for this operation, ensuring each Centurion leading a group could stay in contact. If my radio broke, I'd be in trouble.
The next day, we divided into several groups and began moving quickly, using the large number of motorized carriages we had brought as we forcefully entered the tribal territory, destroying all resistance along the way.
When we encountered the first group of enemy forces, it became immediately evident that there were communication problems between the robots and the women accompanying them, causing much chaos in their response.
While the Protectrons fired their lasers at us immediately, the women retreated, taking time to reorganize after the shock of seeing someone die.
This made it easy to concentrate fire on the robots. With two anti-tank rifles and one anti-material rifle in my contubernium, it was easy to take down the robots by shooting their key circuits located in the upper section.
Fighting these Amazons turned out to be a simple task for my contubernium. Arrows weren't the best weapon choice against power armor, and the few rifles they had were eliminated as priority targets by my men, who were increasingly operating like a well-oiled machine.
As we advanced on the tribal forces' positions, there was no resistance left in the small village. The Amazon warrior group had tried to employ a very common Legion tactic—an assault with all their numbers at once against us.
But it didn't work, as having a good light machine gun in the hands of a competent soldier in power armor turned the battlefield into a crimson field when Drusus pulled the trigger and began spraying from left to right, killing many and leaving many more wounded.
"Good job, guys. Search the buildings and gather the survivors. We'll leave them locked up for the rear groups to handle the rest," I said as I approached the field of dead, wounded, and scattered robot parts.
These robots will be a great addition. We just need to repair them and wipe their memory, and they'll be as good as new. If I replace the Protectrons' laser weapons with drills, they could become an autonomous mining group.
We began gathering the loot and prisoners, which forced me to step out of my power armor to stabilize them so they wouldn't die from blood loss, as they still had value to the Legion.
"Centurion Elagabalus here. We've encountered a large force of profligates... we're vastly outnumbered... requesting immediate reinforcements," my radio crackled with the voice of the Centurion.
"This is Decanus Gaius. Centurion Elagabalus, give me your position," I replied, taking the radio.
"Halfway to the second cohort's rendezvous point," the Centurion responded.
"On my way."
"On my way."
"On my way."
Several other Centurions echoed their responses.
"On the way. ETA, fifteen minutes," I said into the radio.
I re-equipped my power armor and we returned to our vehicles, leaving the group of surviving tribals bound for the forces following behind us.
We boarded and sped off to assist the Centurion's forces, traversing the plains without issues. After several minutes, we could see Centurion Elagabalus and the others already locked in battle against the tribal forces. They had wisely taken advantage of the terrain, targeting key enemy units.
We pressed forward, driving slightly further to flank the enemy forces. Reaching a position ideal for striking their exposed side, we jump and swiftly moved into position, weapons ready.
When we reached firing range, we unleashed a deadly volley against the robots and their Amazon companions. But almost immediately, every single robot turned and began firing back with their lasers. The power armor held up, but the sheer volume of fire was overwhelming, forcing us to take cover. I wasn't sure how much longer the Vault-Tec armor would withstand that much laser fire.
As we took cover, the legionaries stepped up their assault on the tribals, forcing them into retreat. The unfavorable terrain and our flanking maneuver put them at a severe disadvantage, and more reinforcements were on the way.
The firefight dragged on for nearly an hour, until the Amazons finally broke and fled, leaving the slow-moving robots to fend for themselves. We disabled the machines one by one using our anti-armor weapons.
The robots kept advancing, but it was methodical now. With more Centurions joining our group, we steadily dismantled the remaining robotic forces.
"Vespasian, get the rocket launcher. There's a heavy concentration of robots behind that house," I ordered, pointing to a structure shielding several units from our fire.
"On it," Vespasian replied. He hoisted the launcher off his back, took aim, and fired where I directed.
A massive explosion erupted, sending debris and metal fragments in every direction. Thick smoke billowed from the impact zone, halting our firing until it cleared.
"Great shot, Vespasian. This is Decanus Gaius—keep up the pressure and advance. Let's finish this!" I praised my legionary, then grabbed the radio to communicate with the other Centurions.
No response came, but the legionaries began advancing in a crescent formation toward the robots... and they sent dozens of men charging in with machetes.
"No... not that... damn it! Advance! We need to minimize casualties!" I yelled at my contubernium, who emerged from the wreckage we'd been using for cover.
We moved to draw the robots' attention away from the charging legionaries, but the machines had already deemed them the primary threat. With just machetes in hand, the legionaries' only armor was their valor.
The robots shredded their ranks, but that sacrifice allowed us to finish off the remaining machines. At a steep cost.
I couldn't expect miracles from these Centurions. At least they'd had the sense to call for help, rather than trying to annihilate the enemy alone. I wanted to save as many lives as possible, but there was only so much I could do when the commanders resisted. All I could do was urge them to never repeat their mistake.
Still, the battle was over. We had dealt a crushing blow to the tribal forces, leaving dozens of dead and wounded Amazons in our wake. Hundreds of robots lay destroyed, ready for us to salvage and repair.
The legionaries spread out, collecting loot and capturing any wounded women still breathing. Those with machetes were quick to claim the few rifles the Amazons had carried. I made my way over to the group of officers gathering in the area.
"Who ordered that suicidal charge against the robots?" I asked, scanning the group of Centurions and Decanii discussing the next steps.
"That would be me," said a scarred Centurion.
"Don't ever use that tactic again—not against an enemy with high-rate-of-fire weapons. We wasted valuable men who are critical for Lord Caesar's campaign," I told him.
"But it worked. We distracted the robots, and we defeated them quickly. The strong survive," the Centurion replied.
"Time works in our favor. Those robots need to recharge. The longer the fight, the more likely their energy will run out. We need to keep as many legionaries alive as possible for the campaign. Don't waste them in mass charges unless it's the only viable option. Or you'll face Lanius' wrath," I said, watching their typical reaction to the Butcher of Caesar's name.
Satisfied by their silence, we began gathering the robot remnants to send back to camp. Then, we continued our march toward one of the larger settlements of this tribe.
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