The Dukhym district.

10:56 Local Planetary time.

Ahmaianos reached the headquarters of his resistance cell, which was an old warehouse, there he saw that like him, his surviving comrades were all red in the face from exhaustion, this was evident even though the marans had red skin as their defining characteristic, from that you could tell just how much of a struggle it was to just reach their hideout in one piece.

“How are things on your ends?” he said to what was left of their forces, which was not much when compared to what they started out with.

“The north side is blocked.” Tubarin said to him, he was a man with spiky red hair and a voice which would fit on some street punk.

“So is the south side.” Karamus added.

“The east path is guarded, along with the west path.” Duburius said to Ahmaianos.

Usanthus, Paiamara, Barathamas, Daiamar and Maiamar also gave they’re reports, which they all mainly consisted of such elegant words like: ‘we are taffed’, ‘we’re kirffed’ and of course ‘c.r.a.p’ was a very popular choice for such an occasion.

“Do we have enough strength to break through and escape?” Ahmaianos asked them.

At this n.o.body said a word and Ahmaianos had his answer.

Just then the doors slammed opened and the red battle armor which had earlier killed a whole squad of Imperials entered the warehouse.

It raised its hand and slammed a heavy metal box right in front on them, the box opened to reveal energy crystals and some enchanted weapons.

“I managed to take this from a few scouting parties I killed.” the voice of Kalynka was heard from inside the armor.

“Good job Kalynka!” Ahmaianos said with a soft smile on his face and this managed to lift some of the grim atmosphere that was present in the room.

Just then a small beep was heard from one of their crystals, it was a sensor alarm indicating that the enemy had entered the outer perimeter of their street.

They all activated an old farview crystal that they had and looked at the area where the alarms went off, and were shocked to see a force of about 500 infantry preparing to enter the district, behind them at least 80 cavalrymen and two dozen war chariots where being prepared.

“This is crazy! I thought that more than three fourths of their soldiers where on a holiday furlough! Just how much firepower does one local patrol have?” Tubarin said in a burst of anger at just how great the difference in strength there was between them and the Empire.

“What do we do now?” Kalynka asked n.o.body in particular and silence reigned as the answer to her question. They were desperate people, trapped in a hopeless situation. They needed a miracle to escape with their lives and unknown to her Ahmaianos thought the same thing.

“Guys, I will use this armor as bait and draw them to me and while I keep them busy you all can slip away.” she said and this surprised them all, they didn’t know how to respond to this, that is until Tubarin showed them the ropes.

“Like h.e.l.l you are! I for one am not going to let you go alone! We all knew that this may be how we would end up and I say we give those cursed Imperials h.e.l.l before we let the-”

*BOOM*BANG*BOOM*BANG*BOOM*BANG*BOOM*BANG

He was unable to finish his sentence as the sound of a heavy bombardment of fire and earth projectiles was heard in the distance and fell near their position. Akanthos then pressed a few commands on the control runes and the image changed to another part of the city, one where artillery units where positioned.

There they saw a squad of TRH ‘Earth Breakers’, machines that had eight spider like legs and on each leg was a wide flat disk on its tips to help distribute the weight of the vehicles over as wide a surface as possible.

They’re main bodies were also disked shaped and positioned with their flat side horizontally, there were two seats on the right and left backsides of the main body where the operator and the gunner sat. Between the two seats was a third one which was slightly more elevated and housed the spotter and behind him was an even slightly higher raised forth seat where the commander sat. The whole disk was engulfed in a cage that emitted an energy that could take the form of any element in order to create a protective s.h.i.+eld against any enemy attack.

 In front of the seats there was a circle formed out of crystals and runes with small pillars coming out from the circle’s diameter, which leaned inwards to form a conic shape nicknamed the ‘cooker’, whose tip ended with the starting point of a long and thick cylinder that extended for several meters from the front of the ‘Earth Breaker’ and was at a almost 60 degrees angle and aimed towards the rebel’s estimated location.

When the commander gave the order to fire, a small vortex of energy formed in the ‘cooker’, which after s.h.i.+fting into an appropriate element or combination of a several, it was transmitted through the tip of the ‘cooker’ and into an ammunition sh.e.l.l.

The moment it was ready the Earth Breakers fired its load and the projectiles flew on a high arching trajectory towards their target.

The light from the explosion was what the Maran rebels saw first, a moment latter it was followed by an ear shattering noise that was accompanied by a small earthquake, the Earth Breakers certainly lived up to their names!

They stood there for a moment just gazing at the site of the impact before a second blast jolted them out of there stupor and with dread now firmly gripped in their hearts they all started taking weapons from the box Kalynka acquired and headed off to face the enemy, knowing that they were most likely marching to their resistance cell’s final battle.

Ahmaianos turned to his comrades and with a voice that was filled with regret at how they’re end was near said:

 “At least we go out fighting.”

They all made their way out of their makes.h.i.+ft lair and onto the streets, taking up ambush positions.

Everyone was gazing towards the direction where they expected the enemy to come from and they were all mentally preparing themselves for the end.

Some prayed, others thought of their life’s greatest joys, others of their loved ones, a few just gritted their teeth in fear.

Kalynka, who was the youngest amongst them copped by thinking of the armor she was wearing, which was an stolen old Imperial model, namely the BGY- 11 standard ground forces armor. It was painted red instead of the standard dark green color intended for use in the open country, the front and back sides of it where made into an angle pattern of about 40 to 45 degrees which ran from the neck down to ankles and the arm pieces where a sort of triangular shape across the forearms that was also designed to deflect arrows, swords and blows from any attacker.

The helmet was an elongated  double pyramid shape with a short top, with one angle in the front and one in the back and the remaining two situated approximately over each ear, the first two where the sharpest angles of the bunch,  the helmet covered the neck all the way down to the base, connecting it with the chest armor.

The eye slots where situated at about the middle point of the structure where the two halves of the pyramids met, it was just below the angle and this helped s.h.i.+eld the eyes from the sun when necessary.

 The interior was also designed with a double wall skeletal frame which created a sort of interior second wall that was what actually covered the user’s body, creating a small empty s.p.a.ce between the wearers flesh and the true body of the armor. This not only increased the chances of survivability if the armor was pierced but also provided thermal insulation, keeping the wearer cool in the summer and warm in the winter, a fact which she was grateful for whenever she looked at her sweating teammates.

‘Say what you want about the d.a.m.n imps, but they know how to make good war gear!’ Tubarin had once boosted after they had obtained the armor and the majority had all given reluctant nods of approval, that is except for Kalynka.

“Nothing good ever comes out of the Empire, they are pure evil!” was her reply.

 After all, why would they be here in someone else’s country, stealing other people’s resources, forcing their will on another nation and beyond the Maramanakama system where dozens of other star systems all of which had been stolen by the Empire from their rightful government!

But she quickly banished her anger, for as they looked out towards the street in front of their hidden positions they could see a convoy approaching. It was composed out of an Defender Mark 11 war chariot, flanked by what looked like a platoon of soldiers numbering about 20 in strength, and although each soldier was wearing a newer and deadlier model armor than Kalynka’s, the chariot was the real terror.

It’s body was grand, at least five meters wide, fifteen meters long and three meters in height, it was a towering war machine, design for mid to mid long combat, it’s front had a sharpened arrowhead shape and in the case of this particular model spikes where coming out off its lower side, to help remove any obstacle in its path, on the top of its body laid a dome encrusted with magic runes from where it could launch sh.e.l.ls like the Earth Breakers.

On both its side where a pair halftracks that moved this great beast forward and across any obstacle.

It was a weapon designed for frontal a.s.saults and breakthroughs, though it was vulnerable against cavalry, since it was slow to maneuver and its dome had a low firing rate when compared with a war horse’s speed, that could charge it before it got too many shot’s at the enemy.

 That little fact was of no consequence for Ahmaianos and his rebels who had no cavalry.

They did however have a few select words about the chariot’s (and the troopers accompanying the vehicle) parentage and preference for bed companions, but no cavalry.

Ahmaianos took in a deep breath and was about to give the order to attack, when suddenly a powerful barrage of spears was hurled from the second floor of a building that was on the right side of the street the convoy was on, it hit the Defender right on the one area where it’s armor was weakest and namely it’s top.

The spears where all fire spears that exploded on impact, turning the mighty behemoth into a blazing coffin for its crew, the ones that did not hit the Defender where hurled at the infantry, killing almost half of the platoon in a fiery inferno.

The survivors quickly rallied on the other side of the Chariot from where the attack came and quickly started a counter barrage of arrows and spears, but as soon as they did that from the left side of the street a burst of magic struck them.

 Earth golems emerged from the ground; these unnatural killing machines quickly struck the troopers from behind. The soldiers being distracted with the floor from where the attack had come from, did not notice them and where quickly cut down from behind, after completing its mission the golems expired as their magic was depleted and they crumbed into rocks and dust.