Mork's Will

Chapter 7

  Something special was happening. Laz'Grul could feel it. As the mirror broadcast Snikklaw's continued survival, with him and his cronies escaping the daemon lord's pocket dimensions, he turned his attention towards the planet known as Argus. Humans, feeble as they were, all had some level of survival instinct if pushed enough. Even the weakest human had the desire to live. He flicked his finger, and the mirror's surface changed to Argus' surface. He circled his wrist, and the mirror zoomed in on a small district. He could see their tiny buildings of reinforced mud, their tin factories that pumped out those easily-crushed machines. He homed on an important-looking building deckled with Imperial insignia.
   "Is that Argus, sire?" Tia asked, raising his trusty goblet to his hand.
   "Indeed, my dear." he sifted the liquid under his nose, the scent of sulfur and mortal blood filling his nostrils. He took a sip, then focused on the courtyard, where a tall man in a peaked cap and greatcoat, with a small girl cowering behind him stood. "Those two are my favorite ones to watch."

... 

  "A mere child turned away an entire mob of orks? Do you take us for fools?"
   The condescending tone of the council member's voice dug into Sarah. A commissar's authority was nothing to scoff at. Soldiers and government officials answered to someone like him without question, so why was this council so dismissive? Did they not know of the threat those ork creatures posed? From behind Fredrick's great coat, she peered at the council's uniforms. Gold tassels hung from their shoulders, while their collars were peaked with shiny platinum. Their cybernetic implants were professionally made, lacking the defects and imperfections she commonly saw on those who could afford them back home.
   "MADNESS! Next you'll have us believe that Space Marines are immortal and the God Emperor himself will rise again?" one voice chirped.
   "You are a commissar! How difficult can a group of xeno savages be to handle?!" another added.
   "We have given you our finest equipment and soldiers, yet you dishonor our efforts with some brat?"
   Fredrick responded with silence. His temper, steeled through years of exposure to war, allowed him to shoulder their ignorant claims.
   "Very well. I see my efforts have not pleased you." he finally spoke, his words cutting through the council members before they could add more. "I shall return to my station and provide more satisfactory results."
   With that, he turned around and left the courtroom, ushering Sarah along.
   "Mr. Fredrick?" the girl asked. "What will we do now?"
   "They've only known the comfort of their walls." the commissar responded, not even looking in her direction. "They don't know the danger of warfare, or being shot at, or seeing your comrades cut down and devoured."
   "Their cyber-implants were real fancy."
   "Not fancy enough for them to leave their saferooms and fight." he looked down to her this time. "Whatever the case, we must progress on our own now."
   "But the council hasn't decided on everything. Ignoring them is a breach of protocol and___"
   Fredrick gently placed a hand on her shoulder, silencing her. "Those fools cling onto protocol, never daring to think outside of it nor trying even the slightest to do more." he smiled now. "I don't think they'll mind if we do things without their permission, aye?"
   Sarah paused, fully taking in what the commissar stated. Then, her eyes lit up as a revelation suddenly hit her. All those years of following protocol and doctrine melted away, as the commissar's words began to stick with her. Why did her parents have to fight and die while those officials sat in their comfy rooms, enjoying every luxury her neighbors would fight to have? What the hell did they know about 'struggle?' If she thought this out loud, she would be flogged and struck for being blasphemous, but that didn't bother her now. A wider vision began to form; one where she'd grow up strong-willed and able, where her parents would be proud of her accomplishments. She grinned and strode alongside Fredrick, the future looking just a fraction brighter for once.

...

  Human drama had a charm to Laz'Grul. Spilled blood and felling a strong opponent had its virtues, yet there was a guilty pleasure in witnessing humans blabbering and its melodrama. It was that tiny will to persevere, to continue existing, that he loved. Even the weakest human had a fleeting moment of ferocious tenacity, and that was the sweetest taste to him.
   "Those two humans..." Tia said, pointing at the man with the peaked cap and small human skipping behind him. "You seem to like them immensely."
  "Yes. Those two, feeble as they are, are a cut above the rest." Laz'Grul paused, fully taking in the scene of these two humans. "That commissar has seen and lived through many battles, and his little sidekick is proving more than she seems. I can't wait to see what they come up with next."