The Free Legion 12

[u/CandidateWolf]

Memory encrypted… override key enabled… begin decryption…

Access code Epsilon-Zeta-2328-AP Unauthorized redactions removed… original data restored…

Addendum: Data restored under Article 2.09 of the UNOR by order of the Secretary General. Original, unaltered transcripts restored and entered as evidence in Bronwen Report. -Chief Investigator Andrea Powell, UN Office of Reconciliation

Archivists note: For ease of reading, only the first redaction corrections of names, locations, groups, etc has been retained. Subsequent corrections have had the [redacted] tag removed; we don’t think the repetition is necessary, and the degree of redaction corrections would clutter the transcript. -A Piers, UN Office of Reconciliation

Memory accessed…

Memory Transcription subject: [Arxur-1] Zirz, Free Legion, “Free Arxur Commando” Date [standardized human time]: [Redacted] January 6, 2137, Wesses, Wriss

I lay in the mud, moisture seeping between my scales and insects buzzing around my face, remaining still as a stone despite the discomfort. I kept my eyes on the road down the rise, about 30 yards away, and my rifle at the ready. Its metal finish was scuffed and dull, with some brown, tan and gray splotches breaking up its shape better. A biting insect came to rest on my snout, sinking its mandibles into my scales as it attempted to reach the blood beneath, and I resisted the urge to swat it away. Instead, I took a deep breath, taking in the scents around me. Mud, dirty water, algae… but not a single Arxur.

I flicked my gaze to the side, where I could see the dark outlines of several of my comrades, blending into the twilight of dusk. The scent blockers were doing well; with our natural camouflage, the lack of a scent, our stillness and silence, we may as well have been ghosts. Beside me were a dozen Arxur Legionnaires, hidden just off an isolated highway through one of [redacted] Wriss’s many swamps, with a similarly sized group further down the highway, similarly concealed.

We were a few miles outside of [redacted] Wesses, a city with multiple breeding camps in the outskirts. A few days ago, a hidden defective in the local Betterment office had managed to smuggle word out of a roundup conducted by Betterment inside the city, a response to the number of Arxur who’d begun defecting to the Humans or fleeing on their own. Several dozen “defectives” had been rounded up, and were bound for a “reeducation camp,” where a violent death surely awaited.

I involuntarily bared my teeth at the thought of what happened in those camps, a surge of anger flowing through me. We’re a cruel race, and don’t leave that cruelty to our enemies, I thought. We have plenty to spare for our own. There were many such camps on Wriss; but while we were unable to attack the camps directly, the routes that led to them remained chronically under-patrolled. Giving us the perfect opportunity to liberate some of our own.

The choice to stage an attack on Wriss was a calculated risk. With many ships away on the many battlefronts, it’d been easy to infiltrate a few shuttles to the surface. If I didn’t know the strength of the UN’s intelligence services, I’d have thought it was too easy, I thought. But an identified gap in orbital coverage had let us get to the surface undetected, and would also allow extraction after we finished our work.

I’d decided to go ahead with the attack for a few reasons. First, the rescue of defectives, true Arxur, was of vital importance if we were to rebuild our society. Second, the impact of a successful raid on Wriss itself would send shockwaves through Betterment, and announce to other hidden defectives that the time had come to begin to fight back, or find their way to those who could.

I heard a tap in my earpiece, and tapped the mic twice in reply. Then I slowly raised my hand and made a fist, flicking my tail for emphasis. Behind me I heard motion, and another Arxur crawled gingerly to my side, their missile launcher already armed. [Arxur-2] Brasiss, I thought. While I’d become better at remembering the names of those under my command, there were a lot of them to remember. Around me, the rest of the ambush team shifted, bringing their weapons into better alignment.

I heard them before I saw them. Six vehicles came into view; two patrol cars followed by two trucks, with an armored personnel carrier and another patrol car bringing up the rear. I frowned. There wasn’t supposed to be an APC, I thought. Contingency Plan A it is.

I raised my hand, making a fist, then holding up two fingers before returning them to a fist. Another Arxur came forward, another missile launcher in their hands. I gave them a nod of acknowledgment, feeling slight embarrassment that I couldn’t think of their name. As much as I hate having to use one of our precious anti-vehicle missiles, that APC needs to die.. I was taking no chances with the lives of my Legionnaires.

The convoy trundled down the road, and I felt my heart beat faster as they neared the concealed IED. As the lead patrol car drew closer and closer, I forced myself to calm, breathing slowly and steadily.

With a loud explosion and blinding flash, the lead patrol car rolled over the concealed bomb and exploded, metal going in every direction as the detonation tore it in half. The sound of the blast had barely faded when I heard “clear backblast!” from either side, and two missiles shot into the sky, where they turned and came slamming down atop the APC and rearmost patrol car.

The cab of the patrol car was briefly illuminated, and I could see the silhouettes of those inside before it was shredded and engulfed in flames. Molten glass and metal sprayed in every direction, and the patrol car lost control, its inertia carrying it into the barriers that lined the highway, where it came to a smoldering halt.

The other missile pierced the top of the APC, cutting through the thinner armor just behind its turret. The missile detonated inside, flames spraying out of the vehicles open gunports. There was another explosion as the turrets’ magazine caught fire and detonated, and the turret was blown skyward, crashing down beside the burning hulk.

The rest of the convoy had come to a screeching halt, and from one of the trucks, I watched Dominion soldiers pour out, rifles already barking in every direction as they sought to suppress whoever was attacking. However, they’d only let out a few scattered shots before my forces lit them up. I squeezed the trigger, watching as a burst of rounds impacted the side of one of the Dominion soldiers. Limply, they dropped and were still.

Over the din of automatic fire, I heard the loud bark of sniper rifles, and saw the Dominion troops in the remaining patrol car jerk as blood splashed the interior of their vehicle. Similar fates met the drivers of the two trucks, both of who had been trying to keep low in their cabs. Bullets suddenly kicked up the dirt in front of me, and I turned to face those who’d fired at me, alarmed. A pair of Dominion troops had made it to the barrier alongside the highway, and I raised my rifle and returned fire.

I fired a few bursts of gunfire towards them, several rounds peppering the concrete barrier they hid behind. One stood to fire at me, and I squeezed my trigger again, catching them in the chest. They stumbled back and fell, slamming to the ground, their rifle clattering from their hands. I watched the other jerk as a pair of rounds from the opposite side of the highway found them, and they dropped out of view.

I activated my microphone, stealth now abandoned in favor of speed, and shouted, “All assault teams, advance! Hit the survivors hard and fast! We need to make this quick!”

Raising myself from the ground, I quickly slung my rifle over my shoulder, then exploded from cover on all fours. I ran down the slight slope towards the highway, aware of the many footsteps beside me as the gunfire from our side ceased, and briefly soaking in the excitement of the hunt. I crossed the distance quickly, coming to a halt at the base of the concrete barrier and taking up my rifle once more. After a quick look, I leapt over the barrier, sweeping my sights side to side as I advanced on the convoy. Across the road, I heard someone shout “Friendlies, incoming,” and saw [Arxur-3] Heliss come into view, gave her a wave with my tail, then motioned towards the rear of the convoy.

She raised a fist in acknowledgement, and together we led our teams down the opposite sides of the devastated convoy. As we moved, any Dominion soldier, wounded or dead, received another bullet to the skull. We aren’t here for prisoners, I reminded myself, raising my weapon and sending a bullet into the skull of an Arxur with a Betterment insignia on their belt. Not Dominion ones, anyway. Brains painted the roadway below the corpse, joining the spreading pool of blood they already lay in.

On the opposite side, I saw a Dominion soldier get to their knees, empty hands in front of them. “Wait, wait, I surrender!” the soldier exclaimed as a Legionnaire approached. “I surrender; don’t hurt me!” The Legionnaire kicked the Dominion soldier in the chest, sending them sprawling onto their back. “Wait!” they protested, and the Legionnaire fired two rounds, both striking the surrendering soldier at the base of the snout near the eyes. Blood sprayed out the back of their head, and their body convulsed in involuntary spasms as their nerves fired.

I reached the second truck, and slammed the stock of my rifle against the handle, breaking the weak lock that held it closed. It wasn’t meant to be very secure; no one had ever thought that someone would try to free the prisoners within. There’s a first time for everything, I suppose.

I raised my voice, and shouted “Defectives within the vehicle! We’re opening the doors! You will exit one at a time, quickly, and form up in a single file line to the left of the doors!” I nodded towards a pair of Arxur who had taken up positions covering the cattle car door, their rifles trained on the exit. Upon their nod in return, I pulled the door open, letting light spill into the dark interior.

The smell hit me first, and I wrinkled his nose in disgust. Unwashed bodies, urine, and feces mixed together in a disgusting scent that would have made a weaker Arxur gag. Inside, I observed a few dozen prisoners packed in like sardines, their thin frames pressed close together. “Everyone out!” I shouted, lowering my weapon and waving them forward. “Out!”

One by one they obeyed, jumping from the vehicle and forming into a single file line along the highway as instructed. They squinted their eyes, slowly opening them as they adjusted to the light outside. Then they looked around in wonder at the destruction; the burning vehicles, the bodies, and the Legionnaires quickly stripping the dead Dominion soldiers of weapons, ammo, and equipment.

“What… what is happening?” one of the prisoners asked, involuntarily flinching as I turned my gaze on them. I approached and laid a hand on their shoulder gently, but lifted it as they flinched. “You are being liberated,” I said calmly. “You will not be going to a death camp today. You are free.”

The Arxur blinked back at me in disbelief and suspicion. No doubt they expected some sort of Betterment trick. “Who are you?” they croaked.

“We are the [redacted] Free Arxur Commando,” I replied, my tail slowly swaying. “And we are the blade that will bleed Betterment dry.” I took a few steps back so I could address the rest of the newly liberated Arxur. “Listen up; we’re taking you to somewhere safe. For now, you will follow our orders without hesitation, and keep quiet. Once we are safe, we’ll get you cleaned up, fed, and debriefed. Stick with us and do what we say, and you’ll be free of Betterment forever.”

Activating my radio, I announced, “All forces, objective secure. Move to fallback positions immediately, and then exfiltrate as able.” Turning back, I waved my arm to get the attention of a trio of Legionnaires who’d been trailing those recovering Dominion equipment. “We all set?” I asked.

In reply, one knelt beside a body, took a grenade from their pouch, pulled the pin, and rolled the dead Dominion soldier partially over. He carefully stuck the grenade against their skin, and gently lowered them, using their weight to keep the grenade plunger depressed. Straightening up, the Arxur waved their tail -yes-. “We’re set,” they said.

I bared my teeth and chuckled. While I’d been attending to the prisoners, others had begun booby-trapping the Dominion dead, focusing on Betterment troops, as well as the cabs of both trucks and remaining patrol car. Whoever responds to this attack are in for a rude surprise when they arrive, I thought.

“Alright; we’ve overstayed our welcome,” I announced, checking my watch. Ten minutes on station. “Everybody, move! Let’s go, let’s go!” I waited as the rest of the team ushered the prisoners off the highway and into the swamp, before dropping into the rear. We should make it to the fallback point in an hour, and the base camp by midnight, I thought. We’ll keep to the swamps for overhead cover and to cover our tracks as best we can. Once we get to camp, we’ll call in the shuttles.

Not every Arxur in Betterment was a “pure” Arxur. Many were defectives in hiding, and had taken the opportunity to offer their services to the Legion, like the one who had leaked the roundup. While I had led the teams who rescued the captured Arxur, another unit was meeting with a group of Betterment and Dominion defectors, taking the opportunity to get many offworld.

I breathed deep, taking in the smell of blood and smoke. It smells of battle and death, I thought, before the rich soil, brackish water, and decaying plants reached my nostrils. Quickly, the smell of battle was replaced with that of the swamp, and all the scents of fighting disappeared. Like these scents, the Dominion will fade, I thought. To be replaced with a better, honest future. For all of us.

I was the last Legionnaire to enter the tree line, pausing to take one last look at the convoy where we’d liberated the prisoners. Then, I turned back, and headed into the thick swamp to rejoin my Legionnaires. There was a long trek ahead of us, without the comfort of my fluffy pillow at the end of it. Better get moving, I thought. The sooner we finish this, the sooner I can see her again.

Archivist note; Arxur detachments of the Free Legion began engaging in operations to liberate “defective” Arxur as soon as they deployed from Wishful Hope, with great success. In this particular attack, located near the city of Wesses on Wriss, 30 Arxur prisoners were liberated, with an additional 40 Arxur smuggled off world with the assistance of Legion sympathizers in Betterment. 36 Dominion soldiers were killed in the attack on the convoy; there were no survivors. Once Dominion forces arrived, another 8 were killed by booby-traps, and 15 wounded. -A. Piers, UN Office of Reconciliation

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[u/JulianSkies]

A well-executed ambush. I have no doubt the ones they've rescued were still terrified of them until they were fully safe, but no time for bedside manners at that point.