Caecilius felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of his face. Ilac was hot but the exposed desert sands of Sauropsida were so much hotter. He pondered briefly on the sweat. He was dead, yet his body still did these things. Annata truly was a magnificent Guardian. He adjusted his grip slightly, making the weight of the tower shield a little more bearable. The worst part was always the waiting. Rumour had it that a small group of Resistance agents had gone into Dukada that morning and that they were doing something to pave the way for the armies. Caecilius was a soldier of the 2nd Legion of Ilac and along with two thousand of his fellow soldiers stood waiting an unknown signal. With five hundred Sauran sappers on their left flank and two thousand Waster troops on their right they were ready to go. And then it happened. The Western sky lit up with a great burst of flame, bright enough to be seen despite the desert sun, and then a great thick cloud of black smoke marked the towns location on the horizon. Horns sounded and a drum beat began as four and a half thousand troops marched on Dukada.
Half an hour of marching and the column began to split apart infront of Caecilius. On order he stepped aside to allow a wagon to pass. The wagon was being pushed by a group of grim and determined looking Sauran women, the wagon itself a bundle of cloth. No, not just cloth he saw, but children. Sauran babies and toddlers, swaddled in layers of cloth to protect them from the harsh desert sun. Most of them slept, some cried and some laughed. That laughter brought a brief smile to Caecilius’ face but reminded him of the grim truth of the town they now approached. Where were the eggs? There should be hundreds of eggs, another couple of wagons coming from the town. But there were not and the depth of what that fire ahead and the grim faces of the Sauran women meant sunk in. He felt his anger stir. The Scourge would pay for what they did to these people.
Half an hour later the 2nd Legion hit Dukada. Ilac were front and centre, punching straight into the town while the Saurans began the destruction of the buildings and the Wasters swept around, catching those Scourge and Escari who had not yet had time to flee. It was not a battle, it was a massacre. Most has already left and the few hundred that remained were put to the sword by angry Ilaci and Wasters. It took several days but the town was levelled. Torn apart and scattered to the desert sands. Within weeks, the desert winds bury the rubble, very little showing above the surface where once stood proud Dukada. May the souls of all those Saurans who died here find their way to the crucible and may the children who were murdered here not be forgotten