The Betrayal of Ka (The Transprophetics: Book One)

23. To Become a Killer

The shuttle departed on time. Rather than a typical military transport, this was the same shuttle that had brought him to the camp. Kadamba imagined that it was an executive shuttle. The seats, large and comfortable, were arranged in seating areas, rather than just rows. He felt out of place, as the Lieutenant walked into the section of the shuttle that he had been told to sit in. Like the previous trip in this shuttle, there was no one else around.

Lieutenant Mittelwert Padda sat down across from Kadamba. While the Lieutenant had brought Kadamba to the training camp, Kadamba had seen little of the commanding officer since they had left the shuttle. It felt odd again, to be on the same shuttle, heading once again to the Kareenet-Pooshz Portal, with the very same soldier who had picked him up just a few months before. The Lieutenant studied the newly graduated cadet for a few moments.

"Are you surprised to be on this shuttle with me again?" asked Lieutenant Padda.

"Sir, yes, sir," responded Kadamba, "I didn't expect to be assigned to Elite Forces, but I am grateful."

"You know your scores weren't good enough to get into the Elite Forces?" stated the Lieutenant.

"Sir?"

"With your past, son, and the fact that you were mostly a loner, along with the originally recorded scores in your record, you didn't qualify for Elite Forces. You simply didn't make the cut," stated the Lieutenant.

Kadamba swallowed hard. This was it. Kadamba just knew that the Lieutenant was about to tell him that he was going back to prison. He tried not to panic. In his mind's eye, he could already see Jackos laughing and telling him to get ready to complete the "business" they had together.

"Son, what I am about to tell is strictly off the record. I will deny this conversation," Lieutenant Padda informed him.

"Yes, sir," replied Kadamba. The sense of dread began filling his insides. He could taste the acid from his stomach working its way into his throat. He wanted to vomit, but he held his composure, at least on the outside. He watched as the words formed on the Lieutenant's lips, knowing his life would soon be over.

"Your scores were artificially reduced while you were participating in training. No one wanted to give you the scores you deserved. No one wanted to give you the scores you earned. And it is simply because of that brand on your arm," the Lieutenant stated, in a very matter-of-fact manner. "It is this simple. The world will always look at you as a devil. Our job here was to make you fail. Everyone will deny that, but it is the truth. You were given the worst assignments, the hardest jobs, and put in situation after situation that would have broken many men. Yet you survived, and even excelled."

Kadamba searched the Lieutenant's face for a twisted smile, for an evil grin, for anything that would let him know that the man was playing him and making fun of him. The next statement had to be about going back to prison, back into the domain of Jackos.

"Cadet, I am a man of honor. I don't much follow politics or the whims of society. I measure a man by what I can see with my own eyes. I see the brand on your arm. I know what the words mean, but I don't know, and I don't need to know the details. What I have seen is a man set up for failure, set up to be ruined, yet a man who refused to give up."

Was this a compliment? The Lieutenant seemed to be showing something like respect to Kadamba, and he didn't know exactly what to do. He just looked at the Lieutenant and listened, not knowing what the next words would be.

"I don't know who, son, but once again, someone has twisted the strings of fate on your behalf. Your scores from training camp were changed. Someone, with some serious influence, has given you the scores that you actually deserved. I have no idea whether they knew what they were doing or not. Your assignment to Elite Forces surprised the hell out of me, but you are capable of this assignment."