Ichor

Captain (Part I)

Year 6 - Captain
Planet Kurak

° ° ° °

Two months. Two months in a desert kingdom on Kurak. Two months trying to overthrow the corrupt government lead by Emperor Ölüm. It wasn't supposed to take this long, but obstacle after obstacle got in their way. First, it was a lack of suitable equipment for the sandy terrain. Then it was too little water for the platoons under Percy's command. Twenty squads of ten privates each. At least 200 soldiers Percy was accountable for. The third mishap was from a misfired missile that destroyed their backup provisions. That lieutenant was quickly demoted and shipped back as soon as possible. Currently, they were having trouble getting the people on their side. Most were fearful of what Emperor Ölüm would do to them or their family if caught conspiring against him. But they were also fearful of the Chaos Soldiers.

After six weeks or so of little progress, everyone was on edge and losing patience fast. They spoke harshly with the verbal feature of their neuronal implants activated, and they were aggressive when handling goods. Some even yelled at the citizens for things out of their control. Overall, it was a confusing and terrifying experience. Percy didn't see much of this firsthand. He was in meeting after meeting after meeting with his lieutenants to discuss the best plan of attack against the government. The official reports he got back only spoke of citizens who stepped out of line and the protocol followed accordingly. So the encounter Percy came across in the middle of a market was a appalling surprise.

° ° ° °

Lieutenant Nilsson was screaming, "Against the walls! All of you! Move!"

People scrambled to comply with the man's orders. His privates were struggling to keep control of the situation.

"I don't want to see a single one of your faces! Heads to the walls!" the lieutenant shouted again.

Then a very brave, or very stupid boy made a bold move. He took a rotten apricot pie and threw it right in the lieutenant's face. The boy's mother was terrified and rushed towards her son, but a couple of soldiers held her back upon Nilsson's orders.

"You disgusting rat!"

"It is you who is disgusting. You are a pig!" the boy spat.

"You'll pay for this," Nilsson sneered.

Nilsson grabbed the boy by his hair and threw him on the ground. He ordered his two favored men to rip off the boy's shirt and hold him down by his hands and feet with his face in the dirt. Nilsson, not caring if heads were turned to watch at this point, slowly undid his belt. The boy saw the leather strap and started to struggle against the hands holding him down, but it was to no avail.

The first lash went down on the boy's back with a sickening crack. Even more sickening was the scream released. Two more strikes were given in the blink of an eye leaving nasty welts in their place. One of the men on the wall tried to tackle the lieutenant, but he too was restrained. Three more landed in a criss-cross pattern before a group of three men and two women against the walls fought their way to the boy. Somehow, they managed to push over the soldiers holding the boy down and told him to run.

The boy did as told, but his eyes were clouded by tears and he ran into another Chaos Soldier. The force knocked him to the ground again and he fell onto his knees before the man. To the people's surprise, the soldiers stopped fighting. The abrupt change had them all looking towards the new arrivals.

"Captain Ichor," greeted Lieutenant Nilsson. He and his squad saluted their superior and then remained at attention.

The citizens watching looked on in fear at the arrival of thirty-three more soldiers plus the captain.