Blade(Part 1): Dawn

Chapter 31: Alexius

As the city with a population bigger than any other city in the colonies, Noglidas was also the one city that was the most enforced by Skaolan law. That became more and more obvious as Alexius and Lucia both walked through the city's streets together. There were patrols of five soldiers each marching through the streets with their khopeshes sheathed, but their hands on their hilts, with two of them carrying beam rifles. Alexius counted each one carefully. He wore a cloak over his Guardian armor so no one would instantly draw their weapons on him. They arrived in the city in the night, by train, and were greeted by the stern Skaolan soldiers at the station. They would have killed Alexius if he wasn't wearing the cloak over his armor, and nearly killed Decimus when they learned that he was a veteran of the Colonial War. The only thing that stopped them was Alexius stepping between them and his grandfather. In the streets of Astros' capital, it seemed as if there were soldiers of Skaola watching everyone, and if someone did something that one of them didn't like, they would be followed until they reached a dark place, and only the soldiers would come out of it. Alexius caught the eye of one old man who was holding his hands deep in his pockets, and he spotted Skaolan soldiers following behind him. He turned a corner, then went into an alleyway, and the soldiers followed him with their blades drawn. Alexius stepped forward with the urge to protect him, but Lucia grabbed his arm and held him back.

"Alexius, don't," she warned. "Mom said it would only cause trouble for us, remember?" Alexius stepped back towards his sister.

"Yes," the Guardian admitted.

"Let's go back to grandpa," said Lucia. They both began to go back through the streets of the city. It was a rather large city, mostly made up of the original structures built by its Sevorgradian founders three centuries ago. The capital building at the top of the highest hill seemed like a fortress with walls behind pillars that were carved from marble, and a roof that had a perfect triangle shape. Most buildings of the wealthier citizens, whether they be Skaolan or not, had similar designs with either domes or triangular prisms. One of those buildings was the house belonging to a friend of Decimus, who was a former Legionnaire of Astros. It wasn't long before Alexius and Lucia arrived in the neighborhood just before it. As the sun rose further, they both began to hear the sound of a crowd of people, angrily shouting at something. It was a squad of Skaolan soldiers, like the ones in the lower city, numbering five, with three swordsmen and two riflemen. The swordsmen had their blades drawn, and the riflemen had their beam rifles pointed into the crowd. Alexius and Lucia both heard shouts such as "Murderers!" and "Dogs of Aziz!" from the crowd, and it became clear to them what they were shouting about. Like many of the colonists, they were unhappy with Skaola's ridiculous laws and atrocities they had committed. They wanted change. This crowd was violent, though. They threw rocks and sticks at the soldiers, who had dread on their minds, and even when they raised their weapons, the mob didn't stop attacking them.

"Let's go around them, Lucia," Alexius suggested.

"Good idea," Lucia agreed. "The house is down the street, isn't it?"

"No, it's a street over," Alexius corrected. They both began to walk further to the next street when they suddenly heard the screech of tires behind them. A Skaolan armored truck with a machine gun turret on the top rolled onto the road, stopping before the angry mob. The gun then began to rotate, and Alexius quickly put his hand over his sister's eyes as screams came from the crowd of people. The machine gun turret rapidly fired bolts of red plasma into the crowd. Alexius watched with horror the hundred people, men, women, and children alike, collapse to the ground as the rounds struck and killed them. There were a few more screams, and then nothing.

"Gather them in a pile and burn them," the leader of the squad ordered.

"Alexius, what's happening?" Lucia cried.