Deathstalker 03 - Deathstalker War

Rock.
    The battle was grim and bloody, but it didn't take long. The marines had the advantage of far greater numbers, massed energy weapons, and force shields. The townspeople fought bravely, men and women standing their ground fiercely. Swords rose and fell, and blood flew on the air, hot and steaming. There were screams and battle cries and roared orders, and bodies and offal lay scattered across the churned-up snow. There was no room or time for heroes, only two mismatched forces struggling in blank anonymity. Above the bedlam of battle came the occasional roar of energy weapons, followed by the sudden stench of roast meat.
    The troops couldn't use disrupters much for fear of hitting their own people, but the few townspeople with energy weapons barricaded themselves in their houses and sniped desperately from shuttered windows. But in the end, the Imperial forces were able to pinpoint which houses were being used, and blew them apart with concussion grenades and shaped charges. The squat stone houses collapsed inward as the powerful explosions ruptured the walls, bringing down the roofs and crushing those inside. The marines advanced remorselessly from both ends of the town, driving all before them, cutting down those who wouldn't or couldn't fall back fast enough. Until finally the townspeople were caught and trapped and slaughtered in the middle of their own town.
    When finally it was over a sullen quiet fell across what had been the town of Hardcastle's Rock. The last defenders had fallen, and the few who had thrown down their weapons and surrendered, mostly women and children, stood huddled together in small, well-guarded groups. Houses burned to every side, crimson flames licking out darkening stone windows. The dead lay everywhere, mostly townspeople, some marines, well within acceptable losses. A few dozen marines

moved among the fallen, marking wounded troopers for the med teams, and putting the wounded rebels out of their misery.
    Investigator Razor stood in the middle of the town, in a small open space his troops had cleared for him. He looked unhurriedly around, not too displeased with the way things had gone. He'd lost more men than he expected, but then he hadn't expected energy weapons in the hands of rebels. He raised a hand and summoned his main staff officers and his Second in Command, Major Chevron.
    Chevron was a tall, well-muscled man who looked as though he'd been born to wear body armor. He crashed to a parade halt before the Investigator, but didn't salute. Technically, he was superior in rank to Razor, but they both knew who was in charge.
    "The town is secure, sir," Chevron said calmly. "The townspeople are either dead or prisoners, apart from a few still hiding in their homes. The town has fallen."
    "They had energy guns, Major," said Razor. "Why wasn't I informed that the townspeople would have energy weapons?"
    "There were only a few, sir. Like the town walls, they were there to defend against local predators. Nasty things called Hob hounds. It was mentioned in the original briefings, sir."
    Razor just nodded, neither accepting nor rejecting the implied criticism. "Are we sure there are no more rebel settlements in the area?"
    "Quite sure, sir. Just a few farmsteads, here and there. We can hit them from the air while traveling to Mistport. Word won't get there ahead of us. Legion is jamming all frequencies. Apparently it's not uncommon for communications to break down from time to time out here. Mistport won't worry about lost contact for quite a time yet. By the time they do realize something's wrong, we'll be
    hammering on their front door."
    "So we have some time to play with. Good." Razor smiled slightly. "Gather all the prisoners together and execute them."
    "Sir?" Major Chevron blinked uncertainly at the Investigator, caught off guard.
    "It was my understanding that prisoners were to be used as hostages and human shields…"
    "Then you understood wrong. Was my order not clear enough? Kill them all. That includes those hiding in their houses. Do it now."
    "Yes, sir. Right away."
    The Major gathered up the nearest officers with his eyes, and gave the orders.
    They passed the order on to their men, who drew swords and axes already crusted with drying blood, and set about their task with calm, detached faces. Blades rose and fell, and the women and children and few men were quickly cut down.
    They barely had time to scream, and the only sound on the quiet air was the dull thudding of