Hakon
Canaan was once a lush world filled with billions of people, and towering buildings, and structures. It was still lush, the vast forests, and other landscapes long since reclaiming the ruined, and crumbling building. It, like so many other worlds in what was now the Old Ruins was long since abandoned during the creation of the Old Ruins when the Skoll invaded the Settled Worlds, and laid waste to four Furse Kingdoms, and a Bolgar kingdom.
Those lucky enough to escape the Skoll fled to Furse Space, Bolgar Space, and many escaped to the Dragon’s Head Nebula where Fabians had withdrew, and taken up service with the local systems until they were betrayed. The Old Blood Furse would repaid that betrayal with conquest, and claim many of the southern systems as their own kingdoms rose.
The Five Kingdoms of the Old Ruins weren’t all that were wiped out, and the Old Ruins had once been larger than it were today, as the systems were slowly resettled. Even today, almost three thousand years later, there were rumors of Skoll sighting still living within the Old Ruins, or worse things.
Hakon had never seen a Skoll. Sure he had seen holo recordings, and history lessons in his youth, but there had never been anything that proved the Skoll had been seen in the Old Ruins in the last four hundred years, and much longer elsewhere. He wasn’t like one of those who believe that the Skoll never existed. There was too much history tied to them, and across too many cultures, but one thing he was sure of was that the Skoll were not on Canaan.
Others weren’t as sure of Hakon, but one thing was sure, they would find out shortly.
Hakon waited in his power armor inside the cramped drop-pod as the ‘Axe Tooth’ arrived in system, and made it’s way to the world with the rest of the Legion fleet. They had been briefed before the last jump, he knew that there were several ruined, and abandoned structures in space throughout the system, and the General expected a small space battle, but the ‘Axe Tooth’ would land forces on the world of Canaan where records claimed the raiders and pirates held a small base.
Hakon was tied into the general comm system, he could hear the comm traffic as the starships jumped into system, and made contact with the enemy. He missed the command deck of the ‘Long Serpent’ where he had served his king, and could see everything going on, but in the Jom, he, and Frea were just grunts.
Finally the order came, and Hakon along with the rest of the Battalion, and it’s companion battalion were launched from the ‘Axe Tooth’ with the speed of a missile, and sailed through space before entering orbit before slamming into the ground throwing earth and debris up.
The drop-pod was designed for impact, and to allow the user to survive it, but it was still an experience. Hakon’s body shook. He almost puked while they were speeding towards the ground faster than any shuttle or drop ship, and even with the impact protection features, he thought his body with fold in on itself.
Hakon caught his breath, as he looked at the display screen, and than pulled the level to open the hatch when it looked as though they were clear. The hatch blew off, and Hakon jumped out his with railgun rifle at the ready. He looked around as the rest of Retinue emerged from their own drop-pods with weapons drawn.
The ancient ruins of Canaan were long overgrown, and reclaimed by the lush forest. The crumbling structures still stood high, but one would be forgiven if they never thought this was once home to billions.
Weapons fire opened up on them from the crumbling ruins, and Hakon along with the rest of the Retinue returned fire with much greater firepower. The raiders lighter armed weapons were of little threat to them as Hakon tried to pin point the enemy.
Hakon spotted several weapons muzzle fire up eye, and honed in with his scope to take them out as Frea, and the other members dropped several other raiders which emerged near their location, and rushed them with reckless abandon. He fired again, and again from his position as several large blasts went off near his location, and he realized the enemy, even lightly armored as they were, at least had some heavy weapons.
“Clear!” Hakon heard ring out from members of the retinue as weapons fire died down. He looked around at the dead, their twisted bodies covered in blood, and gore, and the pelts of beasts, weather local or not he didn’t know. They appeared to try and make themselves look like Skoll, or some other beast from myths and legends.
“Fuck, look at them,” Frea said as they moved about the area.
“Can it,” Thane Longreach said. “Destroy the weapon’s platform before we move on to the next. Faster we can drop the weapon enplacements over the area, faster we can drop-ships, and reinforcements on the ground.”
Hakon moved with the rest of the retinue as they moved to the secondary objective after destroying the weapon’s platform. Along the way his stomach twisted with horror of the sights as they moved about the camps spread out acorss the small base. The camp fire with roasting limps, and flesh. The slaves with missing limps, and the clear signs of cannibalism. They weren’t just trying to look like the Skoll, they were trying to be the Skoll, and Hakon didn’t think he had ever seen anything so terrorizing.
