Trigulan : slave empire

Chapter 10: salutes and graduations

By the end of the next day the story of what had happened had spread through the community like wildfire and the spirits of the ones that were under the thumb of the Fist lifted enormously.  The people started to stand up against the bullies and did not take any more abuse.  Instead of looking the other way when people were being harassed they stood up for one another. 

Here and there massive fights broke out but the masses always overwhelmed the attackers and sent them packing, mostly limping and bruised.  The action of the trio of friends had set of a chain reaction and it forced the group out of the entertainment sector all together.  They regrouped in their own apartment areas of which they still controlled five and the intelligence gathered by the Movement suggested that they still had a solid core of members that numbered around five hundred.  Most of their support had dwindled and the pink ribbons were almost nowhere to be seen anymore.  Even though they had been pushed back they were by no means beaten.  For the moment they were only licking their wounds and assessing the situation.

A few hectic days later they were all sitting in the Human Hope  in the evening having a quiet meal and reviewing the intelligence that had been brought in by their supporters some of whom were even still living as “Fisters” when Vorteb suddenly looked at Atral like he had remembered something

“Hey, I just thought of something, just before that whooping we handed out those guys were doing their funny salutes and you practically burst out laughing and set this whole mess off.  What was that all about because you seemed to know a bit more than them I think”

Atral burst out laughing

“Right, I meant to tell you guys about that but then just lost track a bit, this is going to make you guys laugh, it’s absolutely hilarious.  When I saw them doing their middle finger salute gesture to that wannebe boss I actually wondered what was happening until I realised it was a salute.  Apparently human history has been passed on a bit better in my farm commune than in others and I got thought almost all of it by Grendo, my mentor and dear friend.  One small thing he thought us was that same gesture, which was used by people if you were really mad at them and it signifies that people should fornicate with themselves as a kind of insult.  As kids we used use it at the Guards behind their backs and run away, it was kind of a game for us”

All the others were staring at him with wide eyes while he was telling his story.

“That was why is started laughing when I saw them doing that sign to their boss, they were all basically telling him to go screw himself while they thought they were doing him an honour and saluting him.”

He started grinning again not being able to contain his mirth and the others joined him in the laughter when he raised his glass

“I propose a toast to the human fist screwing themselves”

Trenko looked at him and spit out his drink all over the table howling with laughter

“That would then be them masturbating”

And all the rest had to hold their stomachs and tears flowed down their cheeks with the irony of that remark and the whole situation.

Strogad wiped the tears from his eyes and took a big gulp from his drink looking at the others still smiling but looking turning serious

“All joking aside guys, and I really have to admit that that was the funniest thing I have heard in a very long time.  Some information has come to my attention and I must share this with you because it is about you.”

Atral then found out that he and his friends were the ones that the Fist blamed for all what had happened and that the upper echelon of the Fist had put out a bounty on their heads of five thousand credits each for his friends and ten thousand for him.