Free Black Legion: 03 - Warlords of Cunaxa by Michael G. Thomas Page A

helmet had sustained a major blow in the fight, and he tore it off to reveal bruising down the side of his face. Roxana moved from the smashed drone towards two columns to give her greater protection from the direction of the arched entrance.
    “Can you hear that?” asked Glaucon nervously.
    A segment of the dark windows that ran along the outside of apartments flashed white and disintegrated in a massive blast. Even the metal shields that had covered them up for security couldn’t stand against such heavy firepower. The shockwave blasted Roxana from her feet, throwing her against a statue of an unidentified Median goddess. She fell to the ground unconscious.
    “Hold this position!” he called out.
      He crawled along the floor to Roxana. She was now totally exposed to potential weapons fire. No sooner had he reached her than a dozen heavily armed Medes soldiers arrived. They were all wearing the mock Laconian uniforms, but these moved with confidence and skill that implied professionalism. Lady Artemas spotted their style of movement and took aim with her carbine. She took a shot, but the enemy quickly rolled into cover and continued to close the distance.
    “Those are Anusiyan soldiers, the sacred protectors of the Emperor. They will not stop!”
    Xenophon lifted Roxana up to his shoulder and moved as quickly as he could to the cover the others were using. The other three put down considerable fire, and it did its job of slowing them down. Even so, they were only thirty or so metres away and moving in for the kill. Artemas kept low and moved over to Roxana. She checked her eyes and breathing, reaching inside her clothing to pull out a small case. Two rounds struck nearby and sent handfuls of marble dust over her. She coughed and then removed a short metal device with a dozen micro tips at the end. Xenophon looked down to her and reached out to stop her.
    “No, it’s alright. She is concussed. This will bring her out of it. We need her right now.”
    She didn’t wait for his approval and removed the woman’s helmet, so she could place the device on her temple. It hissed, and a moment later Roxana’s bloodshot eyes opened. Glaucon leaned out from his cover and fired a short burst that hit one of the soldiers in the face. The man flew backwards but was instantly replaced by another two soldiers. Xenophon pulled out a spare magazine, but his heart turned to despair as he could see more shapes arriving through the smashed windows.
    They must have aircraft bringing in more soldiers.
    He turned to the archway and noticed the small number of surviving soldiers from the initial attack. They were dragging some of their wounded back to the elevator. Glaucon turned and called to the two still in cover around the throne.
    “Hey, either we say here or we get out there!”
    He pointed to the archway and open ground and gardens that ran around the entire floor. One of the soldiers watched him pointing and lifted a weapon. Glaucon took careful aim and hit him in the face with a single shot. The others near him scattered in fear at the execution of their comrade.
    “Come on, out of this place, now!” shouted Xenophon, upon seeing the soldier drop to the ground.
    All five of them broke from their cover and ran as fast as they could. Multiple rounds struck around them, but the distance to the exit point was short. They were out in the open before the newly arrived soldiers realised what was happening. Remembering an old trick, Xenophon set his carbine to overload and dropped it next to the archway. The others kept moving forward though and chased down the retreating soldiers. With gunfire hitting them in the back, they didn’t last long and what started as a withdrawal, quickly turned into a bloody rout. They were nothing like the soldiers in the apartment building itself. By the time Artemas was out and in the open, she spotted Tamara dropping down and embedding her blade in the back of the last soldier’s skull. It was