It was the day after public mourning for Trebonius had ended. The Aeneid was a huge vessel, but it seemed even larger when one saw a map of it. The ship was almost a city in its own right. There was enough room to fit all the 4,500 men of the Praetorian Guard comfortably, and still had enough room that another legion could fit in. It had everything an army could need: vast storehouses, shooting ranges, a mess hall capable of feeding everyone on board and quarters for the troops, in addition to the command center, communication systems and its weapon systems. And Gaius knew each corridor by heart.
He walked into shooting range 3. This one was built for testing urban combat situations, and as such was smaller then the others. The range itself was an empty area, holographic projectors created realistic targets and environments. Today's practice was with the standard issue Model 267 high-velocity .50 caliber assault rifle. Gaius grabbed one off the racks and took up a booth next to Camilla. Like everyone else there, all were in their power armor, both to get them use to it (as if they needed it, the armor felt like it was an extension of their body) and safety reasons. Regular legionnaires claimed it was impossible to tell one Praetorian from another when in full armor, but Gaius could easily tell who was who, without using his IFF. He opened a private comlink with Camilla. This was just as good of a time to talk as any. Praetorians go through intense training to make sure they can communicate orders while under fire. He started to speak.
"We need to talk, Camilla."
"Speak."
The round began. The range became an urban environment, a row of three-story homes filled their sight. Gaius readied his weapon. The first target peaked its head out of a window right in front of Gaius. He let loose a three shot burst, but the guy next to him (Marcus Porcius) got it first, single shot to the head. "Camilla, Trebonius's death has affected all of us. I've gotten worried about you lately." As he said this, two targets rose. One in the upper left, other lower right. Gaius nailed the first with a three-shot burst to the chest without pausing in his speech. The second one got hit by two soldiers farther down the line at almost the same time.
"Why's that?" Camilla asked. Gaius sensed she knew what he was getting at. This time, four targets popped out, all in one row, and this time Gaius noticed they were Cornarians. That made the splatter effects all the more satisfying. He went full auto across the row, getting two but Camilla got the third and Quintus Nepos the last one. Gaius reloaded., as he had already almost wasted most of his 30-round clip. He never was very good with ammo conservation.
"You' had two settings before: When you smiled, the world seemed to shine brighter, but when you were in battle, well, that's why your call sign is 'Fury'. But ever since Trebonius died, you've become distant to all of us." Gaius Finished reloading just as Camilla got the last target.
"I can't be that scary." The sarcasm was dripping from that sentence. Camilla was a stealth and close-combat specialist. She used the standard gladius with an ultrasonic generator in the blade and forearm-mounted energy shield system for serious fights, but when charging into a group of conscripts she used twin gladii for the sheer morale damaging affect. In combat, she was cold as ice, and the fact that she could kill a man six different ways with only her thumbs made her someone you did not want to cross.
The warm-ups were over, and now came a constant stream of targets. Gaius continued. "Camilla, I'm serious. You can't hold these things in. It's just not healthy. I know you were in love with Trebonius, but he wouldn't want you to lose yourself mourning him," He had almost stopped aiming now and just let loose a burst of full auto at anything that moved.
"Gaius, it's not so much that. I miss Tebonius dearly. All my hopes for the future were in him." At this point, she took out five target in a row, one bullet each. "The main problem is that there was nothing I could do to save him."
Gaius nailed two with one bullet. How lucky was that? "Uh, shouldn't that be part of the healing process, not the problem?" This really wasn't how the conversation went when he had thought it out in his mind.
"I mean, when we joined the Guard, we're told we are almost gods among men, that there is no mission too tough for us. I'm agnostic, but when I stood beside Trebonius, it was easy to see why some Christians called him the 'Almighty's champion' or the pagans claim he was goddess-born. He had an aura of destiny around him. It was like Aeneas, Hercules or Augustus stood next to us. But, the way he died... It didn't fit. He was a hero. I always thought he'd either die peacefully of old age after a good life or fall sacrificing himself for all of us. But instead, he was murdered, and we could do nothing. It's like we were a general during his triumph with no one to remind him he's only a man."
Gaius paused to think about that for a second or two. He missed several easy shots, and he never was very good at consoling people. "When I think of how he died, I think the Cornarians are thieves. They robbed him of a glorious destiny. I can feel a rage building up inside me. The closest I can think of to compare it to is how you beat the crap out of that patrician snob who tried to have his bodyguards beat you because you're of Malinese birth." It had happened when she was walking in civilian clothes and the fools didn't know she was a Praetorian. She made a lot of bones break that day. "I, I feel like stealing a ship, going to Cornaria and killing as many of them as I can."
She and Gaius both hit the last target square in the chest. Almost the same spot. "Gaius, I feel same way. But, I think we'll get our chance. There's a 'diplomatic' mission to Cornaria scheduled for next week."
As the range began to reset itself for the next round, Gaius felt like Christmas had come early this year.
Topic: Wrath of Rome #4: Coming to Terms (Read 2089 times)
