Read The Rods and the Axe - eARC for Free Online Page B

size, equally elite, but less specialized. There was another reason for the trip, entirely, but that playing itself out would take some time.
    Once that trip was complete, the Emerald of Hibernia was to make a trip down the other coast of Colombia del Norte, and through the Shimmering Sea, to pick up another six contingents, in size ranging from cohort to tercio.
    With mothers weeping and rather more dry eyed, and often uniformed, fathers waving, that cruise ship began churning the waters behind it, backing up slowly to where tugs could take over and reorient it to make passage out of the port.

    Herrera International Airport, Balboa, Terra Nova

    The bodies, of which there had been very many, were gone, at least. Yet the bloodstains of shattered cadets and fallen Gallic paratroopers remained in the carpets of the terminal. Idly, Carrera thought that, following the war, and assuming they won, those carpets should be collected, preserved, and put on wall display for the enlightenment of future generations. The message? See here the courage of Balboa’s children. Will the sons of her sons show less ?
    If the bodies were gone, so were the windows. And with them gone, air conditioning was an exercise in futility. With that gone, the place became an oven and, worse, frankly reeked with the iron-coppery smell of a slaughterhouse.
    Screw this crap , thought Carrera. Beckoning his sergeant major, Martinez, and his AdC, Santillana, he stomped out of the terminal to the tarmac to await the arrival of a very special contingent of volunteers. Over one shoulder, Martinez carried a case-covered silver eagle on a spiral carved staff. The Balboans and Sumeris, especially these Sumeris, had a mutual admiration society going on and going back to the year 461.

    The side of the first of the big airships read, “Republic of Sumer Airlines,” in both English and Arabic script. Likewise did the next two. They were painted green, with the lettering white. The last two read differently, for Sumer had only the three airships of its own. They said, “ Aerolineas Balboenses, ” and didn’t bother with any other language.
    There were different kinds of airships in use across the planet of Terra Nova. Some required extensive ground support to make landing. Others, the most modern types, needed nothing but a flat surface. The two Balboan airships were of the former type. The three Sumeris, funded by lavish oil reserves, were of the latter.
    Thus, while the Balboans dropped cables that were picked up by super-heavy vehicles, that dragged the airships to hollowed out docking bays, the Sumeri airships used maneuvering thrusters to come down more smoothly and neatly than perhaps any helicopter was capable of.
    Got to get us some of those . . . when we can afford it , thought Carrera, admiringly. Fortunately, Sada said I could hang onto these three until just before the shooting starts. And I do have some uses in mind.
    There was a small parade stand set up a hundred meters from the terminal. On either side of the stand, cameramen from TeleVision Militar stood by.
    The stand had a sheltering awning and was on wheels so it could be pushed out of the way when not needed. It had already been used three times, to welcome in a cohort of Lempiran Mountaineers, another of Atlacatlan Cazadores , and the entire Atzlan Parachute Brigade.
    The Lempirans and Atlacatlans thoroughly detested each other. Fortunately, the former, like the Valdivians, were most suitable for attachment to Balboa’s Fifth Mountain Tercio while the latter could be sent, and had been sent, to Seventh Legion in Third Corps.
    Onto the stand Carrera and his entourage stepped, with Martinez placing the staff of the eagle in a special holder built into the stand. Then they waited, but not for so very long. Nor had they expected to. Qabaash, the commander of this brigade—now this tercio—of the Sumeri Presidential Guard Division, was an old friend, quite well regarded. If anyone could be