Coriolanus Act 1.4.6 & 1.4.7

Scene 1.4.6

Titus looked for Marcius

Titus had his own battle at the back line, when the Volsces had sneaked during the confusion towards the Titus command. They attacked the Romans there, with their body numbers offering suicidal attack on the armored. The tankers who were in rest then were caught outside the tanks. They lost a few of their numbers before the tankers gripped back their superior advantages. The tankers manned their guns and fired on the Volsces. It was a brief battle but the Volsces had won a psychological edge. When their numbers were reducing, they sounded out the retreat.

“What is become of Martius?” Lartius leaned on the carrier that he had fought off the Volsces. He was accompanied by two of his best officers brandishing their blasters and saber.

“Slain, sir. Doubtless.” The wounded trooper seated by the other carrier spoke up. “I saw him locked behind the gates. He was himself alone.”

“O’noble fellow! Who sensibly outdares his senseless sword, and when it bows stand’st up! Thu art lost, Marcius! “Titus laments on the hero that was his friend. “A carbuncle entire, as big as thou art, were not so rich a jewel.”

Titus compared his friend’ greatness as a warrior but not his leadership.

“Thou was a trooper been to Cato’s wish, not fierce and terrible only in strokes, but with thy grim looks and the thunder like percussion of thy sounds thou amd’st thine enemies shake, as if the world were feverous and did tremble.”

A tribute befitting the dead hero. A hero who choose to return from Hell where he was seen stepping out when the gates re-open. Marcius was bleeding from the assaults and fighting that he had to undergo when behind the gates he raised up his right arm to denote he was well and alive. 

Scene 1.4.7

A hero re-born, Hell revisited

“Look, Sir.” The trooper sentry shouted out. “It’s Marcius. He’s alive. Let us fetch him.”

The troopers there saw their hero waving them on, had a new purpose to their call. They grabbed their weapons and rushed for the gates. They entered the gates and saw the carnage that was there. Volsces were everywhere; troopers and non-combatants.

Marcius lowered this right arm and the let his body leaned on the saber. He recalled the moment he realized he was alone behind the closed gates. He looked from the gates to the emerging Volsces from their hideout among the rubbles and collapsed walls. He was with a blaster with probably a near empty clip with his powered saber; a total of twenty five shots were all it could muster. The blaster was an improved version from the Model Four. The Model Five have improved on the firing mechanism to allow for more fire rounds per minute, and the clip had increase from fifty to eighty with new energy packs that leave a bigger hole in the victim. There was also a grenade launcher attached to below the barrel, but he was out of grenades. He had only the two clips on his waist belt for the blaster with the dagger in his left boot. It was meager compared to the dozen troopers armed to the teeth approaching him.

“Come at me, Curs.” Marcius shouted out while he leveled the blaster at the Volsces. His shots cut down three of them who had foolishly cross the open ground towards him. The others to cover behind the collapsed slab or piled up rubbles. He crouched behind his own cover and fired at the remaining Volsces. They have taken cover and were shooting at him. He crouched down for cover when the firing became too intense. He felt fear inside and for a long time, he prayed to the Gods for mercy instead of cursing at them. He ejected the empty clip and replaced it with the spare clip. He looked out from the slab when the shooting ceased. The Volsces are not shooting then but he saw some of them moved into new position.

Martius was cornered.

The thought of fear made him angry. He will never succumb to the Volsces; they are akin to the Commoner. He would not be suffered by these curs. He leaned out and fired at the Volsces. He saw the sneaking Volsces trying to get at him from the right. He had seconds before the other reached him or shoot from there. He raised his saber to deflect the shot that came from the sneaking Volsces. He then rolled out of the collapsed wall and had his blaster shooting. It was an instinctive move and it paid off. There were three of them approaching there. He then jumped up and rushed to the dead Volsces under heavy fire. He reached the first trooper and exchanged his blaster for the Volsces simple version but it was equally deadly. The M7 was a poor imitation of the Model Five, but with crude designs there were also more refined qualities, like the M7 hardly jammed on shooting and a harder handle that may crack skulls on contact.

Marcius saw the twin grenades on the dead trooper. He grabbed that too before he tossed it over at the Volsces. It was not the same for the Model Five, but they have the same impact on explosion. The exploding grenade leveled the Volsces behind that wall.

Hurray for that, Marcius muttered in his mind. He noted then he was free to run for the gates, but instead he got shot at the left thigh. It was a sniper, and was out there somewhere. He turned to fire from his waist level, aiming in a sweeping arc towards the Volsces positions. It was a chance shot and he did it. The sniper fell forward on the shot. He did not pause to check on the sniper but ran for the gates. He got it opened manually, and the pulled it open.

Marcius stepped out and waved his weapon.

He had beaten the Volsces. They were like the Commoners; easy to win over.

“This I will carry to Rome.” Marcius held onto the M7. He saw more troopers retreating laden with their keepsake of the house.  He heard the trooper walking past him while carrying the bag of stealing saying that was his second load. Marcius looked with disgust at the trooper but he did not act upon it. It was his consent that the Commoners will get to act like their own upon such opportunity. His father once told him; there is nothing wrong in the victor for the spoil of war was their deserving reward.