M8-The Aztec's Conquest

     "Ah! The smell of the ancient air!" I say as I reach the top of the tall hill that shields our camp from bloodthirsty eyes. "And nothing but fresh enemies and sunshine ahead!" The first few enemy soldiers look up at me quizzically, but soon recover and charge. I suppress a laugh as the disorganized army starts running forward, each man stopping only to throw a spear or whoop there war cry. Not one man gets past my double edged swords as I leap and curve, swinging the whole way with deadly accuracy. Eventually, the mob begins to hesitate, but most of the soldiers can't even start running before I reach them. Soon there was only the sound of yelling and shouting as the remaining army retreats into the distance. I look around. Not a soul. I start sprinting, following the long line of bodies and blood until I reach the hill. I pause at the top and survey the scene below me. About a dozen Aztec soldiers are gathered around a small fire. I know that some are truly Mesoamerican and some are my own Martian bodyguard. I run down to them and settle in for a hot meal and some sleep.
     As the sun peaks over the horizon, I am awoken by a shuffling of feet. I sit up and am amazed at the sight before me. Hundreds of warriors are marching right past our camp. One of my men comes up to me and, seeing my puzzled look, explains to me what is happening.
"We are to go and make war on Azcapotzalco." Of course. This was the Triple Alliance's ultimate army, led by Tenochtitlan's warriors, marching against the Tepanec capital that dominated this place for years. Are original mission was to eliminate any enemy scouts, and any "small" or "feeble" resistance, that we encountered to clear the way for the main army. I want to take a picture of the surprise on their faces when they see a defeated army stretching out across the plain.
"Of course. Join the ranks and prepare for battle!" I say, but most of my squad had already joined the force minutes ago and the only one to hear my orders were my own Martian soldiers. When I had finished grabbing my gear we all ran to the very front line and started marching. Azcapotzalco's people won't know what hit them.
     After a while of marching and wondering what danger awaits us at the capital, we finally see the great city in the distance. It is hard to describe what it looks like, for I am to busy blocking throwing spears to see very clearly. I get impatient and suddenly surge forward, whizzing past the men in front of me and barreling towards the Tepanec soldiers. Most of the warriors scatter before my huge swords, the ones that resist are killed and the bodies simply disappear under the feet of the giant army following me. We quickly overwhelm the enemy hordes and focus our military power on the city itself.
"Pay close attention to what I am about to say!" I yell to the defenders on the walls. "Surrender now and join our great empire, or perish by the hands of your vengeful army!" Needless to say, the city's ruler surrendered and heaps of tribute were brought out by servants to apologize for the able Alliance warriors killed in the battle.
     A couple months later and the Aztecs have become the leaders of the Alliance and their city is rich in tribute. However, only two cities were invaded because, typically, the Aztec military leaders give enemy cities sixty days to chose between surrender or battle. Both the cities chose to fight, and the Aztecs defeated them. There was no mass slaughter, but they forced the city to pay taxes in form of tribute. Tribute includes gold, robes, food, slaves, spices, and even soldiers! This must be how Tenochtitlan became such a rich and powerful city. With all of these exotic goods coming in to, the ruler can pay everybody to build defences and temples! I think this strategy would be extremely effective on Mars.... Anyway, I think I will tag along to take over another city now.
"Move out!" I yell to my men, and we march away.
     "This was a bad idea." I say to myself as the size of the enemy army becomes apparent. "There must be at least six hundred of them! I don't think we'll be able to take that much." Suddenly I find myself thinking about the number of soldiers I killed on the hill. Immediately a plan starts forming in my complex Martian brain.
"Ok, how many men do we have here? Fifty? Good. I will take ten select men and attack them straight on. The other forty will sneak behind them and wreak havoc on they're reserves. Got it?" The only movement is the nodding of heads. "Good." I select ten of the fifteen men in my elite squad and position them for attack. The five Martians leading the main force quickly herd their troops away, and they soon disappear into the foliage.
"Ready?" I ask the men surrounding me. The answer is the sound of metal on metal as they unsheathe their double swords and hold them at the ready.
"ATTACK!!" I yell. We surge forward in a deadly wave of flashing steel as we set upon the bewildered enemy warriors. Keeping close to the edge of the clearing, we slowly circle back and forth so the archers don't have a steady target. I vaguely here shouting and clanging at the other end of the clearing as I brutaly maul one unfrotunate enemy warrior that tells me the main force has attacked. It isn't long before the army has been narrowed down to about a hundred warriors.
"GET THEM!!" I scream at my soldiers, but the enemy was already gone. I grumble for a while, not happy about the escapees, until I realize what we had just done. My burst of surprise and relief is quickly overwhelmed by regret and worry when I turn and see that many of our men are seriously wounded. Luckily, at that very moment a friendly patrol spots us and helped set up a camp. This saves many lives. Before I retire to my bunk, I gaze up and thank my lucky stars that my men weren't slaughtered. AT peace for the moment, I reluctantly crawl in to my tent and collapse into sleep.