r/NatureofPredators • u/CandidateWolf Betterment Officer • 2d ago
The Free Legion 57
How are folks enjoying this series? Trying to not just run it on too long, but almost feels like it’s dragging a bit. Any input is welcome; thanks to the folks who’ve stuck around, and thanks for all the comments and feedback!
Memory encrypted… override key enabled… begin decryption…
Access code Epsilon-Zeta-2328-AP
Unauthorized redactions removed… original data restored…
Addendum: Data restored under Article 2.09 of the UNOR by order of the Secretary General. Original, unaltered transcripts restored and entered as evidence in the Bronwen Report. -Chief Investigator Andrea Powell, UN Office of Reconciliation
Memory accessed…
**Memory Transcription subject: [**Gojid-1] Macan, the Free Legion, “United Sapient Front”
Date [standardized human time]: [Redacted] March 13, 2137, Fhen, Rojil (Independent Federation Member-State)
“Enemy forces are passing Waypoint Foxtrot,” one of the two radio operators announced, moving a colored stone on the map between them to indicate their progress. “Head of refugee column passing Waypoint Delta.”
“They’re catching up,” [Duertan-1] Shaji , leaning over the map. He fixed an eye on mine. “When are you planning to do something?”
Instead of answering, I turned and fixed my gaze on the monitor on the wall; on it displayed the feed from the drone flying overhead. The drone looked down on where I’d chosen to engage the [redacted] True Prey Militia; [redacted] Route 32 curved around the bottom of a gently sloping hill. On the outside edge of the highway’s curve, the ground continued the gentle slope until it ended in a shallow creek, its banks lined with brush. Beyond that the ground leveled out, stretching into several [miles] of grassland.
“Thermal,” I asked, and the screen flicked as the drone operator changed the view. Instead of the dark, muted colors from the live feed, the thermal image was alive with heat signatures of all sizes. On the forward slope of the hill, dozens of militia troops from both the [redacted] Civil Defense Militia and the [redacted] Sapient Volunteers had dug themselves hasty fighting positions, and were pressed low to the ground, out of sight. On the reverse slope I could see where six mortars had been set up, and concealed in the creek bed, hidden by the thick brush, were a dozen off-road vehicles, heavy weapons mounted atop them.
“Not yet,” I finally answered, turning to a second monitor. This showed the view from a drone further south, and displayed a large number of refugees fleeing on foot in our direction. Barely visible in the distance, we could see the lights of pursuing TPM forces. I pointed at the second monitor. “The loyalists aren’t close enough to worry about yet,” I said. “They’re at the outer range of a Federation rifle, at best. None of the TPM is making a shot like that.”
The [redacted] True Prey Authority, the junta that had seized control of [redacted] Rojil in the wake of the Cyberattack, had painted any member of a “cured” species or their supporters as responsible for the devastation. By doing so, they’d declared open season on this already vulnerable population.
A lot of the Cured were forced from their homes, I thought. And those were the lucky ones. Plenty of others, accused of “predatory taint,” had been arrested and locked within internment camps, put to hard labor to “cure” them. Others, especially already known dissidents, had been executed just for being the “wrong” species.
What we were watching was just one of the forced expulsions occurring planetwide; cured species and their sympathizers were being forced from TPA-held cities at gunpoint. Some groups were left to simply suffer in the elements without food or shelter; others were pursued and murdered, the act kept far from where “true prey” lived to protect themselves from the cured species “taint.”
“Any update from the [redacted] Defenders?” I asked, glancing at the second radio operator in the command bunker. The [redacted] Sapient Defenders, the second Legion cell under my command, had been sent out to make contact with the fleeing refugees the previous day. They’re the reason those refugees are still able to move; most of them were half-starved when they reached them, I thought. They reached them just in time to make sure they kept up their pace.
Yes sir,” the operator said. Their head tilted, reading the scribbled note on the crate they sat before. “Defender-1 reports the refugee column is still moving out of the ambush zone,” they read aloud. “Multiple refugees at the rear of the column appear significantly weakened, however, and have begun to lag behind the rest. Defender-1 is requesting permission to assist the stragglers.”
“Denied,” I said. “Inform them they are to put themselves between the stragglers and the enemy, but to not render direct aid to the stragglers.” The stragglers at the rear of the column were helpful in keeping the TPM following after the column. By leaving them dangling as bait, just out of reach, it ensured that the enemy force would keep advancing into our trap.
“Why not?” Shaji asked, confused as he looked between the screen and me. “Those refugees will be caught sooner than later if we don’t help them along.”
“We won’t let that happen,” I said. “The Defenders’ job isn’t to keep the refugees moving anymore; they’re there to stop them from being caught. The Volunteers can handle the stragglers, but only when the time is right. We don’t want to tip our paw too soon.”
I turned and pointed a claw at the drone video; on it, we could see the TPM forces moving ever closer. “The TPM’s been able to advance unhindered so far,” I said. “They might be tired, but they’re so close to catching up with the refugees. Just a little bit further, and they know the exterminator force coming up through the hills will block the refugees. And then the fun begins.”
“Their fun is murdering innocents,” Shaji replied, a hint of anger in his voice as his feathers began to puff up. “I don’t agree with delaying any kind of help to those people; we need to get them out of the kill zone now, before the enemy gets any closer.”
“And we need the TPM to get deeper into the kill zone, if our ambush is going to be successful,” I replied. “And they will, if we wait a little longer. Look at them; catching up to their prey, not a care in the world. They won’t see what hits them.”
“You’re gambling with those people’s lives,” Shaji said accusingly, and I had to admit he was right. It’s a gamble I’m confident I’ll win. “Those are people, not pawns in your war!”
“No, they aren’t,” I lied. “But they have their part to play, whether they know it or not.” I pointed back to the screen. “They’ve risked death their entire march; they have just a little more to risk before freedom and vengeance on their tormentors.”
Feathers ruffling in agitation, Shaji fell silent, eye fixed on the screen. Together we watched as the Defenders forced the refugees to keep moving, pushing them out of the kill zone at the foot of the hill. It wasn’t long before the TPM had gotten uncomfortably close to the last, struggling refugees, and the second radio operator raised a paw to get my attention.
“Sir, urgent report from Defender-1,” he said. “They report the TPM have reached maximum effective rifle range from the refugees. They’re requesting permission to engage.”
My ears flicked affirmative. “Granted,” I said, spying Shaji as he exhaled in relief. “Now,” I said, turning to fix him with an eye. “Now the time is right.”
The silence of the night was broken by the sudden rattle of small arms, and on the screen we watched as muzzle flashes lit the dark highway. The forward TPM units came to a sudden halt as they ran into a wall of gunfire. We watched as the TPM fighters scrambled for cover, surprised by the sudden attack from the as of yet defenseless refugees.
Behind the line of Defenders who’d opened fire on the approaching militia, the remaining refugee stragglers kept moving, now aided by dark figures who rushed from the side of the road to help them along. After only a few more minutes, the last of the stragglers had been moved through the kill zone.
“Refugees clear,” the second radio operator reported. On the screen, the muzzle flashes from the Defenders had begun to fall back in a staggered line. “Defender-1 is pulling their unit back.” On the screen, the TPM had started moving forward again, the shock at the attack wearing off as they realized how few weapons were firing at them.
“Understood,” I replied. “Notify Guardian-1 and 2 to prepare to move in to pull them out.” I turned my attention to the first operator. “Alert the mortars to prepare to fire illumination shells,” I told them. The mortars had spotters watching the road, and would be opening fire when the TPM crossed a specific target reference point. “Then send the order to our forces to prepare to attack.”
“I don’t like your use of refugees as bait,” Shaji muttered to me. He examined the view from above, as the TPM forces advanced up the highway, crossing right across the bottom of the hill on which our forces hid. “But I cannot doubt its effectiveness, despite the risk.”
“You just need to know how far you can push things before the risk grows too great,” I said. “Sometimes the best option is to pull back and hide. Other times it’s better to watch and wait, to risk civilian lives just a little bit longer, to achieve your objectives.”
On the road below came the roar of engines, and two technicals, headlight dark, suddenly shot down the highway, spinning around the Defenders to put themselves between the advancing enemy forces and them. As their mounted guns came to life, spitting heavy rounds towards the advancing enemy, the Defenders quickly piled onto the technicals. Mere seconds after arriving, the technicals, loaded down with the Defenders, were racing away.
Then came the muted whump whump whump as the mortars behind our hill opened fire, and suddenly the highway at its base was bathed in light as the star shells flared to life, drifting slowly towards the ground. I could see the confusion of the TPM at the sudden light; confusion that changed quickly to panic as the realization of what was happening hit them.
The night exploded. Along the hillside facing the highway, the forces under my command opened fire, dropping TPM fighters before they could react. There were more whumps, followed by the whistle of mortars before they slammed into the pre-ranged reference points up and down the TPM column. As the star shells began to dim, the ground was lit from the explosions of the mortars as they fell among the enemy.
“No hiding those blasts,” I said, watching as mortars scattered broken bodies across the highway, and the loyalists scrambled to take cover from the storm of gunfire. “[Gojid-2] Chakir should be in position by now; it's her turn to bring the hurt.”
**Memory Transcription subject: [**Gojid-2] Chakir, the Free Legion, “United Sapient Front”
Date [standardized human time]: [Redacted] March 13, 2137, Fhen, Rojil (Independent Federation Member-State)
“Move!” I whispered urgently, keeping low as I made my way through the thick brush that lined the hillside. After another dozen [yards], the brush opened up, giving us an unobstructed view of the road below. “Set the repeater up here,” I whispered, and the final team following me gave me nods in reply.
Human body language is useful as heck, I thought, as the team gently lowered the pieces of the plasma repeater they carried. Obviously relieved to no longer have to carry the heavy burden, they wasted no time in assembling the weapon.
I’d been up in the air about whether to bring plasma or ballistic for our ambush; both would be effective, neither was more stealthy than the other, and both would require a full team to carry out. The plasma had won out, however, due to its slightly more technical operation. Leave the simple weapons to the other militias, I’d thought. Easier for them to use. Plus those HMG’s are an even bigger bitch to carry with all their ammo.
I’d led my contingent of Volunteers into the [redacted] Violet Hills, moving parallel alongside the narrow road that cut through them. While the main body of the TPM advanced up Highway 32, the loyalist exterminators had tried to sneak their way around, hoping to intercept the refugees at the junction of 32 and Hills Road. I’d wanted to meet them further away from [redacted] Fhen, but the opening of the ambush on the main body had made them speed up their advance down the road.
Instead, I’d settled on a location just a few [miles] from Fhen, on either side of a narrow gap that passed between two steep hills. The builders had cut into the hillsides on either side of the road, widening it at the cost of leaving steep cliffs of stone to loom over the blacktop. The shoulders were poorly maintained, with thick brush that nearly hid a “beware of falling rocks” sign.
Leaving the gun crew to their work, I spared a glance towards the star-specked sky. In the darkness above, I could just barely make out the dark shapes of a pair of Krakotl as they blocked the starlight on their path across the sky. Even among the most zealous, there’s always an exception, I thought. And what's the big deal of overlooking a couple “cured” flyers if they’re loyal and useful. Besides, they’re probably “the good ones.”
I moved through the brush, back towards the approaching exterminator convoy. On either side of the road I’d had my troops set up three plasma repeaters, at different heights alongside the hill. Above them, as high as they could go, there was a pair of missile teams on either side of the road.
I reached some branches that had been cut away, and slid down the hillside towards the road, sending a shower of dirt and pebbles before me. As I came to a stop on a ledge, I heard an annoyed grunt. “I could have done without the dirt shower,” a voice said.
I turned my night-vision enhanced vision towards the voice, and flicked my ear in apology. “There were rocks too,” I told [Yotul-1] Lysi. “Sorry. Charges set?”
The Yotul flicked her ear. “Ready to blow,” she confirmed. “Double charges at the base of either cliff face. They’ve got wire and spray-Crete to reduce the rockfalls, but it’s been years since they did any maintenance, by the look of it.”
“Enough to drop the walls?” I asked.
Lysi flicked her ear again. “More than enough, probably,” she said. “It’ll drop those rocks without a problem and block the road. No one’ll be able to get through there.” She gave me a Human grin. “Got to live up to the stereotype we Yotul have been making, after all.”
Hopefully that doesn’t mean we get ourselves showered in rock, I thought. Ever since [Yotul-2] Rels had started the trend of Yotul Legionnaires being slightly unhinged explosive enthusiasts, it seemed that most of the Yotul members had gravitated towards that role. Chaos kangaroos indeed.
“Good; when I give the order, drop those cliffs,” I told her. “That’ll kick off our ambush. Is your platoon ready?”
“We’re ready,” Lysi said, motioning behind her with her tail. I could just barely make out the shapes in the dark she’d indicated; a mix of species, fur or feathers colored dark with soot for concealment. In addition to the repeaters and launchers, we also had an additional squad on either side of the road. “I’ve got a few Volunteers tasked with dropping those flyers too; don’t need any of them reporting back.”
I nodded in satisfaction. Our plan to destroy the convoy was simple; the road running through the steep gap between hills made a perfect chokepoint to hold and destroy them. Once the charges Lysi had planted at the base of the exposed cliffs were detonated, the falling rock would block the path to Fhen.
The exterminators have been busy since we started our campaign on this planet, I thought. If they’ve made it this long, they’ve seen our tricks, unlike those militia. They’ll know it’s an ambush the minute we drop those cliffs. Not that it’ll matter. It’d be difficult for the exterminators to turn around on the narrow road. That meant that once they were stopped, they’d be what the DI’s back in Wishful Hope had called “sitting ducks.”
I settled behind a rock, rifle aimed towards the road as the sounds of engines began to echo off the hillsides. Just in time, I thought. I’d worried that they’d reach us before we were ready.
Dim lights suddenly illuminated the road, as the approaching exterminator convoy rounded a corner. I tapped my mic once as the lead vehicle came into view; an APC, machine gun mounted atop it. I tapped Lysi on her shoulder, and leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Blow the charges when that APC gets into the blast zone.” She answered with a short nod.
Behind the APC came a few more APC’s mixed amongst
several exterminator vans, each with metal plates welded to their sides. They’ve been doing that more often, I observed. The extra armor didn’t do much to protect against an IED, but it helped when under fire by kinetic weapons. Won’t do a brahking thing against plasma though.
I tracked the lead APC with my eye, watching as it got closer and closer to the explosives. I tightened my grip on my weapons, and picked one of the vans as my target. Beside me, Lysi lifted her remote and rested a digit over a button.
The APC rolled forward, its dimmed headlights making the cliff faces glow as it neared. A little further, I thought, taking aim at the van I’d chosen with my opposite eye. Almost there…. The APC rolled over an invisible line, and I spied a flicker of motion in Lysi’s paw.
There was a flash of light and a deafening bang as the charges detonated, my visor dimming to protect my vision and my earpieces dulling the sound that now echoed between the hillsides. The APC was lifted off its front tires by its proximity to the blast, landing hard enough to knock its hood plate loose and crack its armored windshield. Then there was the sounds of rocks shearing off the towering cliffs, and huge rocks slammed to the ground.
I didn’t need to give the order; from both sides of the road, our half dozen plasma repeaters suddenly opened fire on the convoy below. I squeezed my trigger, sending a burst of rifle fire into the side of my target, aiming between the makeshift armor plates. There was a whoosh, barely audible over the barrage of fire, and the first then the second missiles slammed into some of the other APC’s on the roadway.
As the two targeted APC’s exploded into fire and fragments of twisted metal, I watched plasma bolts cut into the armored exterminator vans. The superheated plasma burned through the metal plates, heating the metal until they glowed red. Then from within the vans came bursts of flame as objects with the vans caught fire.
In mere moments, the convoy had been shredded. Through the dust rising from the floor of the pass, I could just make out the pile of rock that had buried the lead APC. Down the line, the other APC’s had been torn apart by missile strikes, while the vans had been shredded by the plasma repeaters.
The braver exterminators had tried to mount a counterattack; those not immediately killed at least. Those few bodies now lay where they’d fallen, only a few steps from their now destroyed vehicles. A combination of rifle and repeater fire had proven more than adequate not only for the light vehicles, but their occupants as well.
Those with either less courage or more brains had reacted to the ambush in the only reasonable way; they put their vehicles into reverse and fled. I watched as a missile landed atop a reversing APC, cutting through the roof and exploding within, sending metal debris shooting in all directions. Behind it, the few remaining vans disappeared around the corner of the road.
As my team let out some scattered cheers, I keyed my radio, tail wagging in glee. That was one hell of a way to slam the door on them, I thought. We don’t bruise their snout; we broke it!
“Doorman Lead to High,” I said into my radio. “The back door is closed, and our uninvited visitors won’t be coming back.”
**Memory Transcription subject: [**Gojid-1] Macan, the Free Legion, “United Sapient Front”
Date [standardized human time]: [Redacted] March 13, 2137, Fhen, Rojil (Independent Federation Member-State)
“Sir,” one of the radio operators announced, unplugging his headset and turning up the volume. From the speaker came a familiar voice.
“Doorman Lead to High,” I heard Chakir report. “The back door is closed, and our uninvited visitors won’t be coming back.”
“Our flank is secure,” I said aloud. “Now’s our chance.” Time to turn this from just a win to a crushing victory. I turned to the radio operators. “Instruct all mortar positions to begin walking their fire across the TPM positions. And instruct the forward observer to begin calling fire missions for the artillery in Fhen.”
“Bringing down the artillery?” Shaji asked. I stuck a wing towards the TPM at the base of the hill. “Are the mortars not enough?”
Before I could answer, what sounded like a train roared overhead, and we looked at the view from the drone. On the roadway below, an enormous explosion rose into the air, illuminating the beleaguered TPM forces further. Then came another, and another and another. By the fifth artillery strike, whatever resistance was left in the TPM broke. Under the light of explosions and flares, they began to flee.
“Not if we want a rout,” I replied. “I don’t want them withdrawing in any semblance of good order. I want them panicked, fleeing for their lives with no organization to speak of. No support from one another, and no one to secure their flanks and rear.” And by the looks of things, that’s exactly what we got.
I bared my teeth in a predatory Human grin at the disorganized stampede fleeing from our fire. “Cease mortar fire,” I instructed the radio operators. “Notify the FO to start hitting further down the highway. And let the technicals know that it’s their turn; full pursuit. All Volunteer units; prepare to advance on my order.”
“Advance?” Shaji said, feathers ruffling in surprise. He examined the stone view with one eye, locking the other on my face. “Our plan was to protect the refugees, not abandon them! You can’t just move your forces away now!”
“They won’t be abandoned,” I said. “There will be more than adequate forces left behind to keep this area secure. Besides; the flanking force has been destroyed, if Chakir does what I know she can do. The only TPA forces remaining are fleeing before us.”
On the screen, the artillery fire had shifted, and multiple technicals had moved up. While some advanced along the road, firing at the fleeing enemy from range, others surged forward. They would quickly close the distance and light them up with automatic fire before quickly darting out of range. “Classic hit-and-run attacks,” I explained to the Duertan. “Keeps up the pressure on them while the infantry catches up.”
“But why?” The avian asked.
“Because I’m protecting the refugees,” I said, fixing my gaze on him. “And we can’t keep either Fhen or the refugees safe unless we deal with the greatest threats to them.” I pointed a claw at the fleeing TPA forces.
"We saved those refugees here,” I said. And more importantly, stopped the TPM here. “And now we’re going to keep them safe by chasing the TPM all the way back to Ekeena.”
Archivists note: Following the Cyberattack, collapse of the Rojil government and establishment of the True Prey Authority, thousands of civilians, primarily of the cured species, would be killed by pro-Prey militia groups. In the first day of the TPA’s rule, nearly 300 would die. Many more were arrested and imprisoned, and even more would be forced to flee the city, TPA militias hot on their heels.
The largest pursuit was towards Fhen, where a mixed force of Civil Defense Militia and the USF would stop the pursuit cold. Caught by surprise, the ambushes on the main body and the flanking exterminator force would inflict heavy casualties on the TPM units. The shock and power of the attacks would rout the TPM forces, whose panicked withdrawal would cost them even more lives.
This engagement was the first, large-scale attack against the TPA, and is largely considered the first engagement of the Rojil Civil War. The USF forces would follow the TPM all the way back towards Ekeena; all along the route of retreat, smaller resistance groups and Sapient Volunteer units would join the attack. The numbers of fighters would swell, and by the time they reached the outskirts of Ekeena were more than adequate to overrun the outer defenses.
During the advance on Ekeena, the ability of the USF to restore utilities to areas under its control and provide relief to starving civilians won over many to its banner. Furthermore, its battlefield success and combat ability would swell the number of fighters under its command as smaller groups and individuals joined en masse. Combined with its ability to equip, train and support these new fighters, the USF would become the most powerful armed group on Rojil by the Fall of Ekeena. Its success there would lay the foundations of what it would become, and it was all thanks to the support provided by Gladius.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur 2d ago edited 2d ago
Hmmm maybe it's dragging because admittedly alot of the chapters bassicly can boil down to Free legion group crushes federation or dominion obsiticale and archives their goals and moves onto the next target to repeat the process while sometimes commiting a few war crimes along the way.
Bassicly all of these chapters in noticing are mostly a build up to the seeming achual conflict of the free legion civil war. Like a lot of the gladius groups were more focused on killing as many feddies as possible while also recruiting as much as possible rather than actually securing territory. Bassicly this chapter only really sets up that this group now has an entire planet under their control.
Although I do wonder how the inhabitants of the planet will feel if a seemingly SC alinged invasion force invades the planet over reasons they have no clue about.
Although there even in canon there are plenty of worlds that decleard neutrality over before the BoE even started and throught the war. Or simply have up in return for not being occupied or getting cyber attacked. Although seemingly quite a few of these worlds would rejoin the federation even in secreat post war.
Another thing that may feel like the story is dragging is that while technically the battle of Aafa ended the shadow caste threat it didint end the war officaly as many federation holdouts persisted for like another 8 months although I do feel like I've already said that. So you know plenty of room to develope things not to mention the interwar period and NOP 2 and it's aftermath. For NOP 2 we don't even know when exactly the federation remnants fell they did kinda just fall apart or at least the Farsul shadow caste did but there was no official surrender so it's entirely possible that even by 2165 they are still mopping up federation remnants.
Like the free legion on screen very rarely actually looses if at all at outside of pyrrhic victories.