Free Roma Aeronautica by Daniel Ottalini

skimmer is under attack! Someone on the island is shooting at them!”
    Alexandros ran to the door, pushing his way past the surprised cadet. He made it to the railing just in time. The skimmer was flying erratically, tiny wisps of smoke escaping from its immobile right wing. It spun, rotating dizzyingly until it crashed into the rocky surface of the island’s eastern peninsula.
    “Damnit! Can you tell if the pilot survived?” he asked Ionia, who had thoughtfully carried out the spyglass and had it pressed to his eye.
    “Yes, sir. It looks like the pilot is clambering out of the wreckage. He looks okay from here.” He scanned around. “Uh, sir, there are men moving towards the crash site. They are armed.”
    Alexandros hesitated a moment, but then made his decision. “First Officer Ionia, contact the Lorica and request support. We’ll need it once our men secure a foothold on the island.”
    “Sir,” Ionia interrupted. “The Lorica is probably a day’s sailing away at least. They probably wouldn’t leave the convoy to begin with. That is not a wise plan. We’d risk the entire ship for the life of one person.”
    Alexandros felt his plan beginning to crumble. “Well then, First Officer, find me someone, anyone, able to assist. There must be some imperial assets in this area. Find them now.” He put every ounce of authority into his words, and Ionia snapped to attention.
    “Yes, sir!” he practically shouted.
    Alexandros shoved his hands into his pockets to hide how hard they were shaking. “And assemble the boarding parties. They should be ready for combat in ten minutes.”
    As the cadets scrambled to complete their tasks, Alexandros excused himself to his cabin. He clambered belowdecks, moving about in the lantern-lit gloom of the passageways. Once inside his cabin, the cadet could feel his hands still shaking.
    “I can do this,” he said to no one in particular.
    He opened his trunk and pulled out his own set of armor. The aircrew armor consisted of a light brigandine chest piece attached to a leather shirt that covered his arms and torso. Metal disks were sewn onto the back to provide additional protection. He dug his helmet out of his trunk as well, its metal dome flaring out in the back to protect his neck, while the twin cheek guard portions rested on the sides of his face. As an officer, he attached the traditional crimson horsehair plume to the helmet before placing it onto his head.
    From his weapons rack in the corner he grabbed his scutum, the traditional shield of the Roman legions. Adapted for use on air and naval ships, this scutum was much smaller, being more of an oval buckler than a large shield. His gear prepared, he checked to ensure his sword was still on his belt. His fingers gripped the hilt of the gladius , the short stabbing sword unchanged after a millennia of use and perfectly suited to the close confines of boarding combat.
    He met his men back on the main deck, the wind whipping at their cloaks and tunics. The warmth of the day provided little respite from the wind, which blew constantly at even their low altitude.
    “Are you ready, sir?”
    “Yes, indeed, Cadet Officer Porux. You’ll take the second wave, I’ll take the first. You secure the landing site. We will secure the downed pilot and return him to the airship. Keep a sharp eye out. No telling what these pirates or traitors have.”
    “Absolutely, sir. We’ve got your back.” Porux also had a crescent plume on his helmet to designate him as a unit leader. He turned and began supervising the assemblage of various light artillery pieces along the railings facing the island.
    At least I’ve got one subordinate who I can trust here . A week ago, that would have taken them half an hour just to unpack the darn things .
    The airship descended. Alexandros couldn’t help himself as he peered over the side like the barely graduated schoolboy that he was. The ground moved closer and closer, and Alexandros could make out