[h3]Legio XIII, Somewhere south east of the Holy Land[/h3]
	General Ibrahim Erdogan, Lord Commander of his Radiant Majesty's Illustrious Legio XIII, scanned across the dusty wasteland with the irreplaceable and ancient Zeiss digital binoculars from the cupola of the Land ship [i]Bellatrix.[/i] [i]Bellatrix[/i] was the mightiest war machine in the Legionary arsenal outside of the new tanks that were just now rolling off the assembly lines back in Constantinople. Directly above and behind Ibrahim's head sat a twin-mounted pair of .50 caliber machine guns, another such turret was also mounted in an armored tub on the rear quarter of the mighty rig's trailer. Those weapons alone would have made [i]Bellatrix[/i] a threat for anything in the region, but it was the gyroscopically stabilized 40mm autocannon "amidships" that truly made the Rig a force to be reckoned with. Flanking her on all sides were the other members of Legio XIII's hefty Cavalry Maniples that had been chosen for this mission. All counted there were two other "landships" ([i]Diocletian[/i] and [i]Furiosa[/i]), An oil tanker, a dozen technicals of a dozen makes, a dozen scout bikes, a fuel tanker, and a car carrier rig for scavenging destroyed or damaged cars (because things were still [i]that[/i] desperate out here in the boonies).
	The detachment had left the comfort of walled Jerusalem 7 hours prior when aircraft on patrol spotted a war party flying the flags of the Caliphate dangerously close to the Holy Land. The report said twelve plus vehicles including at least one armored rig, and so General Erdogan had decided to play this one safe and overwhelm his opponents with numbers and firepower. All things considered though this was a milk run, the Caliphate hardly had the firepower that Byzantium could bring to bear and they knew it. He could have easily sent one of his adjutant generals to command this Thunder Run, there was no major risk, but General Erdogan had a personal hatred of the Caliphate that traced back to before he had laid eyes on them. 
	Among his colleagues General Erdogan was known as "The Unconquered Turk." They did not mean it as a compliment. He was the only Muslim to ever reach a staff rank in the Byzantine army, let alone become the commander of an entire legion, his Radiant Majesty's favored legion no less. The other generals had balked, "Why would they let a Muslim command the legion that defends the Holy Land? Won't he just bend the knee to the damned Caliph the second our eyes aren't on him?" There had even been attempts on his life at one point. They never found out who sent the assassin though he had his suspicions. What the other generals, especially those from the west, did not understand was the truly massive gap between Ibrahim's faith and that of the sworn enemies of the Empire. Whatever the Caliphate was, General Erdogan was sure they were not Muslim and that their heresy must be expunged from the world. At least that was a sentiment he shared with his Christian colleagues, though they did not realize and had still fought vehemently against his assignment to Legio XIII. 
	Luckily for Ibrahim, the Emperor had understood. And so General Erdogan now scanned the horizon, looking for the plumes of dust that only a column of vehicles could kick up, hunting for his prey across the vastness of the Middle East. It turned out that fortune had favored him this day, as he caught the hint of a cloud raising up above a rock bluff in the distance. Smiling viciously he descended the Cupola back into the passenger side seat of [i]Bellatrix[/i] and yanked on a cord that ran along the ceiling twice in quick succession followed by one long drag and another three short tugs. The great horn of the Rig rumbled out in kind and relayed the message to the others in the party: [i]Enemy sighted, 11 O'clock, prepare for battle, Deus Vult.[/i] 
	Weapons were given final checks, prayers were uttered, and a flock of pennants bearing the two-headed eagle and Chi Rho rippled in the desert air as the war party made a slight adjustment to their course and thundered away towards the jaws of the enemy.