Octavian watched as dirty, barefoot children stood in the food line. Their eyes were hollow. These children arrived at Camp Veii yesterday after a two hundred mile hike. Many of them arrived alone, their parents only a memory. He felt bad for these children. They had no idea why they were homeless now. They didn't know the Romans from the Iroquois. Luckily for them they followed people who were fleeing to the East. To flee to the West would bring them right into the hands of the Iroquois' slave labor camps. Octavian had to close his eyes at the thought of this. Even with his eyes closed he could still picture the children at the hands of the Iroquois. Working from sun-up to sun-down until they could no longer work. Then tossed out, with practically no clothes covering their emaciated bodies. It would almost be better for them to just shoot them than to leave them out to die in the elements.
During the day the desert sun scorched the dirt and sand in this part of Zululand. The night brought frigid temperatures. It was too much to think about. Time was of the essence now. The invasion had to work. They were receiving some help from the Zulus. Not from the government, but from a few sparce groups who could see that the only chance that the Zulu people had was to turn toward the alliance.
The Egyptians and some Romans were fighting through the eastern mountains. It was a difficult path. Armor couldn't make it through the steep passes. The soldiers were advancing sometimes only a few hundred yards a day. Frequently they were pushed back as the Iroquois had entrenched themselves well on the cliffs. The whole war now rested on the coming invasion.
Nine divisions of Roman marines and tanks were to hit the southwestern coast of Zululand tomorrow morning. Six divisions of mixed American units would hit the northern coast. Octavian and Tut were to keep the pressure up in the mountains, thus keeping the Iroquois from retreating to the east after the invasion.
It was a good plan - one that he was proud of. Octavian, Antony, and the American general Laffayette had come up with it. Everything depended on forcing the Iroquois into a three front war. The strong American Navy was responsible for keeping the Aztecs from relieving the Iroquois, although the minor of the allies was little more than a pest at this point.
Looking at the refugees again, Octavian thought to himself that this had to happen quickly, before more innocent civilians died. Shaka would be taken out of power and a new, competant leader would take over. At least that is what he hoped for.
------------------------------------------------
Maximus could barely make out the cliffs in the dim light of dawn. Looking out the side of his landing craft, he could see his objective better by the light of the bombs that were dropping on the Iroquois fortifications. His landing site was the beach between the Two Kings. These were two eerily similar looking mountains that stradled one of the only beaches on the southeastern coast.
Already they were being shelled, even more than they had expected. This was an ominous sign, thought Maximus as he watched the landing craft next to him. That craft was sinking; the last shell got a bit too close for them and the whole landing craft nearly flipped over. There was nothing that he could do about it now. To stop and help these men would be to leave men on the beach unsupported.
At one thousand yards to the landing, Maximus could hear the gunfire for the first time over the roar of the landing craft's engine. Occasionally he could see the tiny splashes where the bullets hit the water. He turned to the driver.
"Do you see that entrenchment about a hundred yards in?" he said, pointing to a spot behind the beach. "When we land, go in at an angle so that my men aren't forced to run straight at it."
The driver confirmed, and Maximus moved to the bow to continue surveying the scene in front of him. Already, several craft had landed. He could see bodies on the beach along with men trying to run to the sea wall with their heads down, apparently trying to protect their faces by leading with thier helmets. Those had to be 20mm shells, the General thought. If they got hit with them it doesn't matter if their helmet is on.
"Keep your heads up, boys! Watch where you're going on the beach!" he shouted to the men around him.
They had trained for a month on this landing. Engineers had built a very similar beach on the coast of the Unfinished Isle and they practiced the landing at least twenty times. It was the little things, Maximus noticed, that got overlooked. Something as minor as telling the men to keep their heads up. He would have to remember these things in his report so that they could become part of the men's future training.
It was then that the shell hit. Not a large one, but it was bad enough. After the shock of the initial explosion, Maximus realized that he was still alive. Then he realized that he only had half a landing craft left, and to help matters, it was sinking. He quickly shouted out for everyone to take off whatever was heavy that they were carrying, and to grab their guns.
Before he could tell them all to swim for it, the situation was complicated even more as the landing craft behind them had nowhere to go but overtop of them. Maximus and the men that were left after the initial explosion were at first shaken violently, then felt the craft capsizing beneath them.
------------------------------------------------
The water was warm. He hadn't expected this. During training in the stormy spring weather of the Unfinished Isle the temperature rarely rose above fifty degrees. This water was almost pleasant. It reminded him of his childhood, swimming in the lakes around Byzantium. It was always warm there. He had his first kiss there, as well. Julianna was her name. Beautiful black hair and brown eyes. He fished in those lakes too. Maximus prided himself on being a fisherman. It was one of the joys of his life. He didn't dare fish anymore. Dominic had fished with him often. The two brothers would take the rowboat out in the mornings. That day, the fishing was poor and the two boys became bored, as early teenagers often do. At first it was fun, wrestling about the small boat, but then the older Dominic became a bit too rough. In anger, Maximus pushed his larger brother. He didn't mean for him to hit his head on the side of the boat, or to fall into the water. He thought Dominic was playing at first; maybe he was trying to scare him. After a minute, though, Maximus became frightened. He called out his brother's name. When there was no response, he jumped into the water. He swam about these waters searching for two hours, exhausting himself. He wished that he, himself, would become too tired to swim anymore so that he wouldn't have to live with the guilt of killing his older brother.
-------------------------------------------------
The sudden jolt of a soldier falling on him jostled Maximus back to reality. That reality was that he was underwater. The man who fell on him was carrying too much gear. Maximus pulled off the soldier's belt and jacket, then did the same to himself. The soldier was unconsious. Maximus kicked up from the ocean floor with the soldier in his arms. They broke the surface after a few moments; the water was only about twenty feet deep this close to shore.
Maximus looked at the soldier he carried. The man was not breathing. He had to get him to shore in order to save him.
The General began swimming on his back toward shore, keeping the soldier's head above water. It seemed like hours, but was only really a few minutes before his frantic swim struck land. Maximus stood in waist deep water and looked again at the soldier in his arms.
-------------------------------------------------
He doesn't look good, Maximus thought.
"Just a few more yards to shore, Dominic. Hold on, you can do it."
There was no response from the boy; just his lifeless body.
--------------------------------------------------
Reality again struck Maximus as bullets riddled the sand around him. Not this time, he thought. Just above the crest of the water he placed the soldier on the ground.
"Not this time," he said again, aloud this time. Maximus turned the man onto his side and patted him on the back a few times. He turned him onto his back again. Still not breathing, he thought. The General took in a deep breath, pressed the soldiers nose, then forced his breath into the dying man's lungs. He did this several times. After a while he turned the man onto his side again and patted him on the back. This time seawater spewed from the soldier's mouth, followed by several coughs. The startled soldier looked at the General.
"Come on," Maximus said, and, offering a hand to the soldier, began running up to the sea wall.
----------------------------------------------------
During the day the desert sun scorched the dirt and sand in this part of Zululand. The night brought frigid temperatures. It was too much to think about. Time was of the essence now. The invasion had to work. They were receiving some help from the Zulus. Not from the government, but from a few sparce groups who could see that the only chance that the Zulu people had was to turn toward the alliance.
The Egyptians and some Romans were fighting through the eastern mountains. It was a difficult path. Armor couldn't make it through the steep passes. The soldiers were advancing sometimes only a few hundred yards a day. Frequently they were pushed back as the Iroquois had entrenched themselves well on the cliffs. The whole war now rested on the coming invasion.
Nine divisions of Roman marines and tanks were to hit the southwestern coast of Zululand tomorrow morning. Six divisions of mixed American units would hit the northern coast. Octavian and Tut were to keep the pressure up in the mountains, thus keeping the Iroquois from retreating to the east after the invasion.
It was a good plan - one that he was proud of. Octavian, Antony, and the American general Laffayette had come up with it. Everything depended on forcing the Iroquois into a three front war. The strong American Navy was responsible for keeping the Aztecs from relieving the Iroquois, although the minor of the allies was little more than a pest at this point.
Looking at the refugees again, Octavian thought to himself that this had to happen quickly, before more innocent civilians died. Shaka would be taken out of power and a new, competant leader would take over. At least that is what he hoped for.
------------------------------------------------
Maximus could barely make out the cliffs in the dim light of dawn. Looking out the side of his landing craft, he could see his objective better by the light of the bombs that were dropping on the Iroquois fortifications. His landing site was the beach between the Two Kings. These were two eerily similar looking mountains that stradled one of the only beaches on the southeastern coast.
Already they were being shelled, even more than they had expected. This was an ominous sign, thought Maximus as he watched the landing craft next to him. That craft was sinking; the last shell got a bit too close for them and the whole landing craft nearly flipped over. There was nothing that he could do about it now. To stop and help these men would be to leave men on the beach unsupported.
At one thousand yards to the landing, Maximus could hear the gunfire for the first time over the roar of the landing craft's engine. Occasionally he could see the tiny splashes where the bullets hit the water. He turned to the driver.
"Do you see that entrenchment about a hundred yards in?" he said, pointing to a spot behind the beach. "When we land, go in at an angle so that my men aren't forced to run straight at it."
The driver confirmed, and Maximus moved to the bow to continue surveying the scene in front of him. Already, several craft had landed. He could see bodies on the beach along with men trying to run to the sea wall with their heads down, apparently trying to protect their faces by leading with thier helmets. Those had to be 20mm shells, the General thought. If they got hit with them it doesn't matter if their helmet is on.
"Keep your heads up, boys! Watch where you're going on the beach!" he shouted to the men around him.
They had trained for a month on this landing. Engineers had built a very similar beach on the coast of the Unfinished Isle and they practiced the landing at least twenty times. It was the little things, Maximus noticed, that got overlooked. Something as minor as telling the men to keep their heads up. He would have to remember these things in his report so that they could become part of the men's future training.
It was then that the shell hit. Not a large one, but it was bad enough. After the shock of the initial explosion, Maximus realized that he was still alive. Then he realized that he only had half a landing craft left, and to help matters, it was sinking. He quickly shouted out for everyone to take off whatever was heavy that they were carrying, and to grab their guns.
Before he could tell them all to swim for it, the situation was complicated even more as the landing craft behind them had nowhere to go but overtop of them. Maximus and the men that were left after the initial explosion were at first shaken violently, then felt the craft capsizing beneath them.
------------------------------------------------
The water was warm. He hadn't expected this. During training in the stormy spring weather of the Unfinished Isle the temperature rarely rose above fifty degrees. This water was almost pleasant. It reminded him of his childhood, swimming in the lakes around Byzantium. It was always warm there. He had his first kiss there, as well. Julianna was her name. Beautiful black hair and brown eyes. He fished in those lakes too. Maximus prided himself on being a fisherman. It was one of the joys of his life. He didn't dare fish anymore. Dominic had fished with him often. The two brothers would take the rowboat out in the mornings. That day, the fishing was poor and the two boys became bored, as early teenagers often do. At first it was fun, wrestling about the small boat, but then the older Dominic became a bit too rough. In anger, Maximus pushed his larger brother. He didn't mean for him to hit his head on the side of the boat, or to fall into the water. He thought Dominic was playing at first; maybe he was trying to scare him. After a minute, though, Maximus became frightened. He called out his brother's name. When there was no response, he jumped into the water. He swam about these waters searching for two hours, exhausting himself. He wished that he, himself, would become too tired to swim anymore so that he wouldn't have to live with the guilt of killing his older brother.
-------------------------------------------------
The sudden jolt of a soldier falling on him jostled Maximus back to reality. That reality was that he was underwater. The man who fell on him was carrying too much gear. Maximus pulled off the soldier's belt and jacket, then did the same to himself. The soldier was unconsious. Maximus kicked up from the ocean floor with the soldier in his arms. They broke the surface after a few moments; the water was only about twenty feet deep this close to shore.
Maximus looked at the soldier he carried. The man was not breathing. He had to get him to shore in order to save him.
The General began swimming on his back toward shore, keeping the soldier's head above water. It seemed like hours, but was only really a few minutes before his frantic swim struck land. Maximus stood in waist deep water and looked again at the soldier in his arms.
-------------------------------------------------
He doesn't look good, Maximus thought.
"Just a few more yards to shore, Dominic. Hold on, you can do it."
There was no response from the boy; just his lifeless body.
--------------------------------------------------
Reality again struck Maximus as bullets riddled the sand around him. Not this time, he thought. Just above the crest of the water he placed the soldier on the ground.
"Not this time," he said again, aloud this time. Maximus turned the man onto his side and patted him on the back a few times. He turned him onto his back again. Still not breathing, he thought. The General took in a deep breath, pressed the soldiers nose, then forced his breath into the dying man's lungs. He did this several times. After a while he turned the man onto his side again and patted him on the back. This time seawater spewed from the soldier's mouth, followed by several coughs. The startled soldier looked at the General.
"Come on," Maximus said, and, offering a hand to the soldier, began running up to the sea wall.
----------------------------------------------------
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