Imotekh and Krel stood at the Jaffa's vanguard, preparing to charge into battle. On the dais, gleaming in his battle armor, stood Phaeron Szarekh. Beside him stood his honor guard and Tesar's bodyguard. Imotekh, of course, remembered that addressing women with feminine titles was only permitted for queens, and for the Jaffa, all gods were male, regardless of appearance. But for the old man, this form of address was simpler.
"You've discussed this with your commanders, preparing for this day of the week. But I repeat: we're going to fight the Spartans—the warriors of the god Pelops. Pelops is the creator of all Jaffa, and his warriors will prove to be the toughest bastards you've ever faced. This won't just be your baptism of fire, but a demonstration of your superiority over the best warriors the other gods can field. We're attacking the planet Tripoli. Each of you has a plan. Our goal is to study the enemy. There's a garrison there of five thousand Jaffa, half of them women. But don't let your guard down for a second. My goal is to capture as many as possible alive, despite the fact that they'll likely not react to intars or the first shot from a Zeta. This will be your test. I've given you all the tools for victory. Their weapons will be destroyed, for I personally mined their armory. The slaves are not to be touched." I need to capture as many Spartans as possible to understand their strength and how to attack planets where a hundred thousand, maybe even fifty thousand, live. By executing this plan, you will cover yourselves with unfading glory. Many can kill—it's easy; we've killed more powerful opponents before. But my war is directed against Pelops. I will kill him, take his armies, his planets, and his life. BARRAAAA!!!
"BAAAARRAAA!!!" thundered the response of the Jaffa, ready to attack.
Imotekh knew most of what his master was saying, but the inspiring speech before the battle was decisive. He and Krel had devised most of the battle plan, with additions from Phaeron Szarekh. The master was skilled in war; it was no wonder he had established such a system for training his troops, and most importantly, he did not hinder his subordinates from achieving glory. Despite the fact that this was only a raid on an insignificant planet with a small garrison, the entire operation was planned with meticulous care. Once again, Imotekh thanked his enemies for their foolishness—the unguarded gate. The warriors of Ra would never have allowed themselves such a blunder. Under Szarekh, everything became even more paranoid: the gate was permanently housed in an antigrav fortress, guarded around the clock, with turrets and shields. It was taken out of the fortress only for trade shipments. This was the state of affairs on every planet in the master's domain.
Donning their helmets, the Jaffa ran to the tracked vehicles and took over their compartments. Five thousand troops participated in the operation—exactly the same number as at Tripoli. But they had the element of surprise, shields capable of withstanding staff fire, and detailed knowledge of every move of every Jaffa in the city. Pelops had a strange system: the Spartans ruled over slaves. The men served as warriors and overseers, the women as stewards, and the slaves ran the household. Tripoli had several cities with a combined population of five million. All governance was exercised from the capital, where the Spartans, surrounded by slaves, lived in spacious mansions. Imotekh snorted. Although Szarekh suspected that Pelops's Jaffa had undergone rigorous training, they clearly weakened without slaves and were unable to perform ordinary work. Women were losing control of their homes, leaving everything to slaves while they managed their fiefdoms. He would demonstrate this weakness to them now. He even wondered if these weak-willed hens had even brought the Zetas with them. Imotekh didn't believe women should fight, but if the enemy was at their doorstep, they would defend their home and children. Weapons were always at hand. The Jaffa women in Phaeron Szarekh's domain were practically as much killing machines as his students. A comparison was in order.
The vehicles' engines hummed softly. The warrior activated the gate, and the drivers steered the vehicles toward it. The passage was there—and they moved on, in complete darkness, for their helmets allowed them to see perfectly. A night attack had its advantages.
— All forces, act according to plan.
Night was the ideal time to attack, as the slaves wouldn't interfere. Jaffa houses, from where they came to work, were located along the city's perimeter. The palaces of the most influential families were located in the city centers. Imotekh grimaced with disdain: in his opinion, the Spartans were mired in hedonism and excessive luxury.
The time was chosen to be a few hours before dawn. After circling the city, they launched their attack from the Spartan houses, establishing a ring of encirclement and using armored vehicles to deter any attacks.
At the phaeron's signal, a multitude of explosions rocked the city—these were weapons depots. Jaffa typically didn't store weapons where they could fall into the hands of slaves. Only Phaeron Szarekh had a special metal box in each warrior's quarters where he kept weapons, and no one but the key holder could use them. But on worlds like these, where a slave could seize a weapon and use it against their cruel masters, such a thing was dangerous. Therefore, the Spartans' off-duty weapons were stored in special barracks, which had now been blown up.
Imotekh chuckled, watching through the BMP's systems as lights lit up in the windows of the estate he'd chosen, a reaction to the explosions. The driver rammed the heavy gates of the Spartan's house and entered the courtyard. The slaves began to make noise, but they lived behind locked doors, opened only at dawn. This allowed his warriors to quickly disembark and form a line. Shields ready, they began to slowly advance through the estate, ignoring the slaves. Thanks to their helmet systems, they noticed movement on the second floor.
They moved methodically and relentlessly. Any servant who tried to run (apparently, these slaves were prized above all others) was stunned by intars. Suddenly, a Spartan bearing the symbol of his god attacked them with a knife. He was shot several times with an intar, but he ignored them and, trying to break through the shield, reached the helmeted warrior. The latter struck him hard on the head with the shield and then twisted his arms. His wife also tried to resist, but was stunned by intars. They had to hit the warrior several times on the back of the head to restrain him. After searching the two masters of the house, Imotekh realized that they each had identical bracelets. The mistress, however, was missing the sac for carrying the deity. The old Jaffa assumed that this was why the intar had affected her.
"Imotekh-Sarehu," he contacted the master. In such conversations, the phaeron allowed the most concise address, without titles. "The house has been captured, two prisoners. Spartan women do not carry the sacs for carrying gods; they are affected by intars. Not the men, the sacs are still there."
— Zetas?
"They didn't have time to check. He attacked with a knife, he was fast and strong. They knocked him out with a blow to the head."
"Okay, occupy the house. Stun the slaves, send the prisoners to the gates."
- Yes sir.
The Rhinoceros IFV was a capacious and excellent vehicle. Imotekh, admittedly, didn't know what a rhinoceros was, but when the gentleman showed him a picture, he appreciated it: a huge beast with a heavy, bony horn, perfect for powerful ramming attacks. As the gentleman wryly remarked, "It has poor eyesight, but if it's going fast, it won't need it." The old Jaffa chuckled. That's exactly how these vehicles operated: they breached the fortified estate and crushed all the enemies in just two or three minutes, without wasting time breaching the gates with plasma shots. The Jaffa glanced at the positioning system—it ruled out friendly fire, especially at night or in smoke. He could constantly see the status of everyone around him: allies were marked green. The satellite map also helped: it let Imotekh know that the other groups were also successfully completing their mission, encircling the city.
- Interesting day.