The Stupid Cannon Fodder is Stunning Today

Chapter 1: Nine

"How may I help you on this fine morning?"

It was not, in fact, a very fine morning for this man.

The woman, Madam Arcadia, was undeterred by his attitude and tightened her hold on Nine.

"There's something wrong with Toby. I know you said there would be some disorientation from the head wound, but he's not responding properly."

The man looked at him.

Nine blankly stared back.

A few seconds passed in silence before the man opened the door wide.

"Come in."

The woman thanked him and carried Nine inside.

They were led up a set of stairs to a room with pillows on the ground and a low wooden table.

The woman set him down on one of the pillows and the man sat behind the table.

"What's wrong with him?"

While the woman recounted everything wrong with him, Nine found himself staring at the window.

The view overlooked the busy street and the people.

It was so very confusing to Nine, who was a soldier in the Interstellar Age of ZEFRE-2B9.

There was no peace during this era. Ever since the discovery of space travel, numerous wars have broken out all over and across millions of galaxies. The home planet was long ago abandoned, and the Great Migration took place thousands of years before Nine was even born.

And now he was here, in a time long forgotten, trapped in an ancient past where humanity hadn't yet suffered the destruction of the home planet.

"-oby?"

Was that the name of the body?

Why did it feel familiar? He felt as if he heard of the name before.

When he turned his attention back to the man and woman, he saw that both of them were looking at him in concern.

Nine tilted his head.

The man opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then closed it once more.

He looked like a gaping Andromeda Whale.

"Toby, do you know who I am?" the man asked.

Nine blinked. He shook his head, no.

The man pointed to the woman. "Do you know who she is?"

Again, Nine shook his head.

The man pinched his lips together. "Do you know who you are?"

"..."

The room fell silent.

"I think I see the problem, now."

The woman glared at the man. "You think?!"

"Okay, okay," he placated, "Calm down. So there's some memory loss. That's natural with head wounds. Toby, look at me."

Nine looked at the man.

"Focus on my hand, alright? I am about to take a quick scan so hold still for a moment."

Nine did as he was instructed.

A warm glow appeared on the man's hand. Nine was fascinated by the glow. It pulsed like a heartbeat and felt so different from a ray gun.

The man turned off his glowy hands and looked as if he swallowed a lemon.

"What's wrong with him?" The woman demanded.