Chapter XLIII
“We’ll need more blankets, too!” Valerie heard Corporal Anderson call out as she left the room.
“Sure thing,” Valerie said as she made her way to the area the humans were storing their surplus supplies. It was a two minute walk at most, and Valerie had already completed this jaunt more times than she could count in the last few hours alone. This was why, when she turned a corner and saw only a smooth, stone-like surface where the room should have been, she was both embarrassed and confused at how she could have possibly lost her way.
“What…” Valerie said, before she backtracked a little as she wondered where she had made a wrong turn. Her confusion only mounted, then, when instead of seeing the way she had come, there was instead a narrow hallway, the dark purple walls completely featureless except for the faint, yellow arrows that pointed down the hallway.
“But… It was just… I’m… But… This had better not be some kind of haunted-house horror bullcrap…” she muttered, before she planted her feet, unwilling to put up with whatever magical shenanigans that were being pulled here. “Listen, I know you’ve got magic, and that you’re messing with me, but I’m just here to help! I’m not your enemy!”
If whoever was causing this could hear her, they certainly did not show it. Instead, all that happened was that the color of the arrows became more pronounced, as if insisting that they follow their advice.
“I don’t think… but you probably can’t understand me, can you?” Valerie muttered, before she finally relented. Without a translator, or indeed any of the U.S. servicemen, she was essentially at this mysterious entity’s mercy. With a huff, she loosened the catch on her pistol’s holster, ready to defend herself from whatever this was before following the arrow’s advice.
Her steps seemed unnecessarily loud as she traipsed down the corridor, her long, narrow route devoid of any evidence that there was anyone else nearby. It didn’t take her long to reach the end of the hall, and when she turned the corner, instead of seeing more hall, or a room, all she saw was a solid wall blocking her progress. Before she could voice her frustration at this, or indeed fully comprehend the fact that she was basically trapped in a prison with no way out, a small, round opening suddenly appeared in the wall’s center, quickly expanding until nothing remained but an open passageway. The whole event took less than a second, but it unnerved her more than she would have cared to admit, simply because it looked like the wall had been a living mouth opening wide, rather than the stone wall it had previously been.
The incongruent noises of children laughing and playing, even if they sounded more insectoid than usual, cut through her feelings of fear and revulsion. Even though she had seen enough horror films to know that children laughing wasn’t necessarily a good thing, she still felt more curious than anything else, and decided that it might not be as dangerous as she initially thought. With quick, quiet steps, she proceeded down the new hall, turned a corner, then stopped short at the sight of two bug-horses in armor at the end of another hall, standing guard outside the room that the sounds of children were coming from. Before she could even think to turn back, or attempt to hide, both turned to her, and surprisingly, fell into a low, low bow before gesturing towards the doorway behind them.
“Excuse me, but why did you bring me here?” Valerie asked them, not really trusting them despite their apparent politeness.
They said something in their weird, musical language, before pointing into the room they were guarding again, their warm, almost excited smiles only growing as she slowly, hesitantly approached. When she was close enough to look inside, she froze at the weird, gross, yet strangely cute room before her.
The place had the general feel, and appearance, of some kind of nursery. The room resembled an amphitheater, or something similar, with the focus of the room being a central point on the wall to Valerie’s left. Soft toys, cushions, and blankets were strewn about the room, as were at least a dozen tiny, adorable-looking horse-bug things, their eyes large and soulful as they watched the confused human enter the room. A few cooed excitedly as they tried to crawl towards her, while others started bouncing up and down, chanting something that Valerie couldn’t quite make out, as most did not have enough teeth to make the sounds right.
As cute as they were, they could not cancel out the pure terror that Valerie felt as her eyes took in the more… disturbing aspects of this room. The walls, floor and ceiling all had a strange, disturbing, fleshy look to them, as if they were covered in a purple, breathing skin. What was worse, though, was that in the center of the wall that seemed to be the centerpiece of the room was a single bug-horse head and hoof. They didn’t look like they were mounted there, either; rather, they looked like they were part of the wall, and a living part at that, since the head looked up at her the moment she walked into the room, a smile on its face as it waved to her in a friendly manner. She also was faintly aware of the fact that, while every other bug-horse she had met up to this point had pink eyes, this one’s eyes were yellow. It was an odd detail, to be sure, but it almost didn’t register as literally everything else was far more intrusive to her earthling sensibilities.
As Valerie desperately tried to keep herself calm, a faint memory surfaced in her mind. She had never been in this room before, had never seen this strange, bodiless bug-horse in her life, but she did remember Alex saying something about all of this when they had finally reunited. He called them ‘changelings,’ if she remembered right, and their history was apparently closely tied to the ancient Greeks, so much so that many of their names were Greek in origin, and they even used some of that ancient tongue in the hive.
None of this did anything to help the frightened, panicking part of her brain, and she had to take several deep breaths to keep herself from screaming. She repeatedly told herself that these creatures were friends, and that this was an alien society, and that she couldn’t judge them against her own standards. The part that wanted to scream, however, helpfully pointed out that there was no promise that the fate of the unfortunate changeling in the wall could very well be her own if she didn’t get out, and get out now.
Before the two warring factions in her mind could come to a consensus, however, the baby bug-horses around her seemed to recoil a bit, as if something about her had stung them. They immediately started crying, causing a panic to set in, as various deadly scenarios started playing out in her head. She was just about to run in the other direction, but stopped when an unfamiliar voice spoke up, pulling Valerie from her fears. “Am sorry being, one second. Arrow, come, taking is out,” the head said as he vaguely gestured with his lone hoof towards the screaming changeling foals.
Would larvae be a better word? Valerie thought to herself as a before unnoticed attendant, probably this ‘Arrow’ the head had called for earlier, approached. Arrow quickly scooped up the babies with his magic, depositing them one by one into a large, weird, egg-shaped stroller, before wheeling it towards Valerie, as she was blocking the only way out.
Arrow briefly bowed to Valerie as she let him past, before the head called to her, drawing her attention again. “Welcome, and apology, Promethean. Not mean scare, but could not waiting longer, see with own eyes saviors of Equis.”
Valerie approached the strange, bodiless horse, still not sure about this thing. She remembered Alex saying that he saved something that matched this strange changeling’s description, but for some reason she couldn’t quite remember his name. He was someone important, though, that was for sure, though his role in changeling society seemed to be something that Alex didn’t quite understand himself. “It’s okay, just… just be sure to ask next time,” Valerie said as she stopped in front of the head, though not too close, as she still didn’t feel comfortable about the thing. “My name is Valerie, and… I’m sorry, but I think I remember Alex telling me about you, I just can’t remember what he said your name was.”
“Am Oberon, and am King-Consort of Provide, Protector of Provide, and father of hive,” the horse said, before inclining his head towards her in respect.
Valerie nearly laughed as the king gave his name, when she realized the parallel. Not only were these things called changelings, but they even named their king after the king in that old Greek play. That humor quickly faded, though, when she realized that that ‘play’ might not have been as fictitious as she had always thought, and she couldn’t help but wonder just how much of the ancient stories surrounding changelings was fact, rather than distorted fantasy. “It is good to meet you, Oberon, your subjects have been very helpful in guiding us around. I’m sorry, but I’m not a diplomat, so I can’t really talk for my people. If you give me a second, I can go and get one of the soldiers. They’d be better at answering any questions you might-”
Valerie stopped short, though, when the king shook his head, his smile never fading. “No want diplomacy. Not want talk that, am apology for pulling away. Just want meet actual promethean, one not tainted by alien monster. Wanted see own eyes what you looking like. Wanted to meeting one of you. Promethean, see for self, thank you self, for all you doing.”
“Well… as much as I appreciate the thanks, it would probably be better if you had sent someone to fetch one of us,” Valerie said, gently chastising the changeling in the wall. “The others are probably wondering where I am, and humans can get kind of touchy if their friends suddenly disappear without warning.”
Oberon looked confused, as if the thought had seriously never occurred to him. “I… Would that working? Don’t know, not have many visitors, not know how is usually working...” he muttered, his tone uncertain.
“We would have probably said yes, so yeah, it would have worked. As it stands, they’re probably worried sick, and might even send a search party,” Valerie said as she tapped her foot, her irritation with the whole situation shining through somewhat.
“Honest, being, honesty new us. We not used to straight forward. Or asking,” Oberon confessed, his voice similar to that of a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“It should be fine, especially if this visit doesn’t take too long. Just… ask, okay? You’d be surprised how much people are willing to do for those who ask.”
The alien lowered his head, his eyes closed in what Valerie assumed was a sign of respect and regret. “Apology is being, not intending. Last thing needing is promethean demigods our enemies. May go, go with blessing, and thanks.”
This caused Valerie to stop short, not quite sure that she had heard the changeling correctly. “Wait, demigod? What are you talking about? Humans aren’t any kind of god, demi or otherwise.”
“You too modest,” Oberon said, his smile only growing as he looked up into Valerie’s eyes. “But am asking, what other word being used could describe creature as powerful and mystery as promethean warriors? You fighting legend, you power marvelous, you disappear, mysterious. Demigod best describe, even though you no like.”
“I’m flattered you think so highly of us, but that just isn’t true,” Valerie rebuked him, not really liking how Oberon was setting her species on a pedestal. “We have a saying in our language: We’re only human. To be human means that we are not only capable of making mistakes, but that it’s inevitable. Besides, I’ve seen you people do things that defy explanation. Even this conversation we’re having is a miracle far beyond any feat humanity has ever achieved, so please, don’t call us demigods. We’ll try our hardest, but we’re not infallible, and we’re certainly not immortal. We’re just human, as mortal as I think you are. We’ve failed before, and we’ll do our damnedest not to, but we still might fail now.”
Valerie was expecting the changeling king to look crestfallen, or even betrayed. She even expected him to be angry, or shout that it wasn’t true. What she didn’t expect was a look of smug satisfaction. “You saying that, but you wrong. Promethean have already surpassed simple translation, so much more. Just stand, in front of me, on my planet, instead yours, speaking your wonders, not ours.”
Valerie shook her head again. “We’re only here because of that portal you made. It’s not something we could have done in a million years.”
“Yet, somehow is being, so small as saying, your ancestors Greeks made portal,” Oberon said, causing Valerie’s expression to twist into a look of pure confusion. “No, not know what think portal, but we not make. You make, you follow. May not think it, but demigods you are, have strength, have power.”
Valerie shook her head, not quite believing what she was hearing. “We have stories of magic users, sorcerers and soothsayers and magicians. Up until now, I would have said that all of them used superior knowledge and trickery; heck, they could sometimes match even our modern medicines with simple plants! But... we’ve never had real magic. We’ve always been alone, and anything magical about us would be invention or trickery. Whatever you think, I can guarantee that we’re not something as divine or awe-inspiring as a demigod.”
“You saying that, but you not know. You used have magic. You lose it,” Oberon said, before something strange started to appear on the wall above his head. It looked like if Picaso had tried painting a snake, without ever having seen one before. “You demigods, because you ancestors, being mortal, standing to real gods.” As if reacting to his words, the snake-like creature above Oberon began to laugh silently, even as a large number of human-like stick figures surrounded and began to throw their spears at the creature. “You mortal, and yet, you standing to thing worse than alien. They nothing, compared to demon, and you ancestors fought it with sword and bow!”
Valerie watched the puppet show, completely speechless as, one-by-one, the humans were each scattered and torn apart, limb from limb. However, just because they were fighting a losing battle, it didn’t seem to stop them. Even when they were missing limbs, they still stood, and charged the beast. “I don’t…” she muttered, before she trailed off.
“If stories right, even death not hold you. Fought, even when bone broken, and flesh rot. You think you not worthy, think you not great, but you not know what have. What you power you wield to challenge gods! You fight, not win, but fight, even if not work. Still did good. Still save Provide, give us our hive back, give us safety. So we watch. Have watched, long, long time. We know you come back, and did. Was sneaky this time, not even we know you come back, but you still did,” he said, as another figure appeared, watching the monster from afar as it began to terrorize a group of ponies. “You come back sneaky. Not direct, this time. You come, and you teach. You free whole world, and lead princesses to find harmony.”
The man disappeared again, only to be replaced by a wizened pony, covered in bells. He led two small unicorns, which seemed to grow up quickly, as well as gain wings, as they walked behind the older horse. It did not take them long before they reached a large, glowing tree with mystic symbols in its branches, their faces filled with awe as they looked at the wondrous, magical plant. The wizened unicorn seemed to step back, then disappear entirely as the two pegasus-unicorns took the symbols out of the tree. They didn’t even seem to notice the wizened unicorn’s disappearance as they flew off to face the monster, causing it to freeze in place and turn grey as the two pegasus-unicorns blasted it with the symbols, the power, that they had obtained.
“You bring peace to us. You bring hope, though strangers, then disappear, but we know you return. We know demigods always return. You save hive from Desolation, and now, save world from alien monster! Compared to god of chaos, what do alien monster have? Prometheans you are, and though you weak, your weak is strength. Name means Children of Knowledge. Knowledge is always you power. Power to rival gods, and we of Provide remember you. We always remember you. Always hope you return, and we joy to see you return, when we need you most.”
The king was rambling at this point, but one thing became very, very clear to Valerie: The changelings saw humanity as something greater than what they were, all because they had apparently helped kill a god in the past.
“Oh, crap…” Valerie muttered to herself as Oberon continued to look at her not as an alien from another world, but as a savior from legend.
A legend that she was sure that humanity had no hope of living up to.
“Listen, I don’t know what your legends say, but we’re not those mythical, all powerful beings you seem to think we are,” she tried to explain, panic setting in. “We’re not perfect. In fact, we can be complete bastards at times, and we are even guilty of some of the same sins as the krin! We’re not demigods, and to believe this nonsense would only set yourselves up for disappointment!”
Oberon seemed to think about this for a few seconds, his lips turned down in a frown. Valerie briefly thought that she had finally managed to make him understand, but that thought was dashed to pieces by his next words. “...Even though so terrible, still come help. Maybe prometheans not bad as prometheans think? Maybe prometheans more than think. In least, more powerful than think, and fact that use power come help, not conquer? That make all difference.”
Valerie stared at the stubborn, alien head for a few more seconds, before she grumpily turned away and marched towards the door. She stopped right as she reached it, then turned to look at Oberon one more time. “...Thank you for having such a good opinion of us, but… you really shouldn’t get your hopes up like that. Like I said, we’re not infallible, and we’re certainly not all as good or as kind as you seem to think we are. Your world might contain monsters and demons, and it’s entirely possible that we came to kill such a beast in the past, but… we tend to win the wars, and lose the peace, if that makes any sense. Just… Be careful that you haven’t traded one demon for another.”
Without another word, she left, intent on returning to her own kind to help where she could. Her mind kept dancing around with all the information she learned, as well as some pointed questions she needed to ask these people, preferably with Alex nearby as a translator. However, underneath that academic curiosity was the worry that the coming of mankind to this world wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
As she turned the corner, though, she found her thought processes derailed as she passed by Arrow and his charges in the hallway. The younglings looked up as she passed, and despite their earlier crying fit, they all had worshipful-like hope in their eyes as they watched her pass. Valerie had noticed it before in the changelings, usually in the younger ones, and up until now she had passed it off as child-like wonder at encountering a friendly alien species.
Now, however, she knew the truth. They revered humanity, saw them as something like legendary heroes of myth, and the looks on their faces weren’t what she had initially thought. They were happy to see humanity not just because of the unexpected aid, but because it was akin to an ancient knight galloping out of a storybook to save them in their darkest hour.
And after Valerie saw those tiny faces look up at her, hope brimming from their eyes, she found herself fervently praying that humanity would not disappoint them.
* * *
Sergeant Nakamura looked over the assembled soldiers while Lieutenant Blacks was talking to the pilot. His surviving boys were all there, tried and true, gossiping and shooting the breeze with the rest of the platoon as they waited patiently for the damn alien barge they were in to reach their destination. Every single human there was someone that Nakamura knew personally, men he would gladly lay his life down for in an instant, as they would for him.
However, they weren’t the only ones horsing around as they patiently waited for the word to move out.
The shorter, far more colorful horse soldiers were a new, though not unwelcome, element. Nakamura did not know everything they were capable of, had known them for less than a handful of hours, and none of them even spoke English. Somehow, though, they had not only managed to worm their way into the platoon, but had proved themselves time and time again to the others. On top of that, they were incredibly well disciplined, and had quickly learned to take orders as readily from the humans as if they were their own officers.
It was honestly bizarre. A few had been picked up almost immediately upon arrival, attached to his unit to guide the humans and serve as a liaison for the locals, but that number steadily increased as the battle progressed. At the moment, the platoon had acquired seven unicorns, four pegasi, fifteen ‘dirt’ horses, as well as the single, shape-changing bug-horse that had been assigned as a translator.
Even though none of them could hold a rifle to save their lives, they had already proven themselves courageous, steadfast, and more importantly, useful. They had stuck their necks out several times for the humans, and they for them. He honestly wouldn’t have minded getting a drink with them once this was all over, and was already thinking it would be a good idea to pick up their language in the future. He still didn’t fully understand what their abilities were, or what they could do, but just from the small amount he had seen, he already knew that they had potential, even if they never learned to use so much as a handgun.
The unicorns, by far, were the most versatile. He had seen shields, lasers, levitation, healing... Hell, he had seen one of them turn a bug into a chicken. If someone could think it up, it looked like they could make it happen, though that did not make them invincible. Their main weakness seemed to be their constitution, as they tended to run out of breath rather quickly, and had a hard time keeping up with their cousins. He also suspected that they couldn’t take a hit as well, but since he only had the alien bug’s plasma weaponry to judge that against, it was really only a hunch he had that couldn’t be tested at the moment.
He had also noticed that, while the effects they could bring to the field were wide and varied, the unicorns’ abilities were not uniform across the board. For example, some seemed really good at throwing up shields, while others didn’t even try, even if their lives were on the line. During the lull right after driving the last of the krin out of the city, Nakamura had had a chance to ask the ones currently in the platoon about this discrepancy, but all he had been able to figure out was that it had something to do with specific talents and training.
The human sergeant was a leader, though, and every good leader needed to know everything his men were capable of. He had grilled each of the seven that had joined his platoon before he had volunteered for this mission, and through the choppy, horrible translation, he had figured out that they had three ‘shielders,’ two ‘blasters,’ one that could turn invisible, and a medic. Not a bad showing, all things considered.
As for the other two types of horses, while they didn’t have the same versatility as their horned cousins, they more than made up for it with their other attributes. The ‘dirt’ horses were Superman-levels strong, and their low profile and quick charge speed made them ideal for getting close to enemy entrenchments while the bugs were otherwise occupied. In essence, they could fill the role of attack dogs with ease, though that comparison wasn’t exactly fair.
Dogs, while useful, couldn’t hope to hold a candle to a ‘dirt’ horse in terms of speed, intelligence, and power.
As for the pegasi, the ability to fly and control the weather would have been useful in any type of warfare. When Nakamura then added on their blinding speed and the magic armor that all the ponies wore, they made perfect skirmishers and flankers against the bugs.
Despite their obviously primitive society, the horses were a people with potential. They were intelligent, courageous, powerful, and above all, loyal. They didn’t have a good grasp of modern tactics, but that was something that could be taught. Their only real weakness was their lack of consistent, real ranged options, but it was a deficiency that the humans more than made up for.
Hell, they could probably figure out how to use a rifle, if they can do that, Nakamura thought as he watched one of the ‘dirt’ ponies pick up, unscrew and take a drink from a canteen that had been offered to him, all without the need for thumbs or any obvious manipulators.
Sergeant Nakamura’s musings were interrupted when the alien door slid open again, revealing Lieutenant Blacks, a mischievous smile on his face as he approached his men. Sergeant Nakamura quickly stood up and saluted to the superior officer, his face a stony mask. “Ah-ten-shun!” he bellowed, immediately causing the assembled soldiers, horses and all, to drop what they were doing and salute to the Lieutenant. “What’s the word, Lieutenant?”
“We’re entering…” the lieutenant said, right before a bump shook the entire shuttle. “Now. The bay is clear, as Alex promised, though I don’t think it’ll take them too long to notice us. You nervous, Sergeant?”
“Those gutless, wuss-ass roaches ran just when the party was getting good, sir!” Nakamura said as he lowered his hand. “We’re just grateful for the chance to stop them before they’ve had a chance to go crying home to their mommies. Isn’t that right, boys?”
Every soldier behind him all let out a triumphant “Hooah!” at their sergeant’s words, including the horse warriors, as they apparently had picked up the war cry from their human allies.
The lieutenant gave them all a wicked smile, before he walked briskly to the shuttle’s loading door, unslung his rifle, and slammed his hand against the alien panel, causing the door to open, revealing the empty shuttle bay beyond. “You all know what you’re supposed to do, so let’s go take ourselves a starship…”
* * *
Captain Alzilos tapped the arm of his chair with a single hand, unaware that he was keeping time with the blasted music that was being pumped through his ship’s speakers. As per the ship’s hardwiring, the bridge was sealed against intrusion during high alert situations to protect the command crew in the event of an enemy boarding the ship. In theory, it would allow the command crew to continue directing the ship’s efforts, even if most of the ship was taken over by enemy insurgents. This was also why the computer core and main engineering would seal themselves as well, to prevent the enemy from shutting down the ship from within. The barriers weren’t perfect, as nothing was, but it still would take any invading force quite some time to cut through to anything useful.
In reality, though, because the trouble was their own computer systems, all these precautions did was make engineering, the computer core, and the bridge deadly prisons. The bridge was the safest, to be sure, as it did not have any turrets, but it would still prove eventually deadly, as the command crew were cut off from food and water, and had no way to override the lockdown, or even cut through the doors. Alzilos wasn’t stupid, and knew that this was a flaw in the krin’s own design, rather than anything that the virus had done, and would be something that he would bring up with his superiors as soon as they managed to get out of this cursed system.
But without anything to cut through the doors, or any way to influence the events outside those doors at all, all he could do was sit there and watch through his subordinates’ eyes. He could give orders or advice, but there really wasn’t anything he could say that would be superior to the direction of his field officers. In fact, anything he could say could very well distract his men at a crucial time and cost them their lives, so all he could do was watch and wait, and frankly, it was probably the most torturous thing the captain had ever endured.
His soldiers were fighting, and dying, to reclaim his ship, all while that atrocious noise the ‘humans’ called music blared through the speakers. This one was supposedly called an ‘Oo-vur-chure’, whatever that was, but it just sounded like noise to the krin captain. Especially since it seemed like one of the ‘Oo-vur-chure’s’ main instruments were explosives, for some reason. Whatever these humans were, there was no denying that they were completely insane if they considered anything with explosions as music.
“How much longer on that door, Sergeant?” Captain Alzilos asked, his patience wearing thin.
“Probably another thirty minutes, sir. It’s designed to withstand this sort of punishment, after all,” Sergeant Kalivor answered, his voice surprisingly calm.
“Keep me posted. Just be sure to remember that you’ll be shot at the instant that that door opens. They already took out the three technicians that were on duty, and we can’t afford to lose any more soldiers. Play it safe, Sergeant.”
“I’ll do my best, but I can’t-”
Then, suddenly and inexplicably, the sergeant disappeared from the network. Captain Alzilos switched to one of his subordinates, only to see something that made his heart sink. The private was shooting back as much as he could, all while he ran towards a nearby doorway, but Captain Alzilos already knew he would never make it
The humans’ weapons were just too fast. Too deadly. Within seconds, the surviving members of the platoon outside of the computer core had been wiped out in a brutal display of savage power, causing Captain Alzilos to slump into his chair in defeat. He was vaguely aware of the fact that soldiers all over the ship were disappearing from the network much faster now, but he could hardly work up the enthusiasm to watch. He had been defeated, and he knew it.
“Ahem, Captain Alzilos, your attention, if you please,” a familiar, hated voice suddenly piped in, causing Captain Alzilos to glance up at the monitor listlessly.
Standing there, in his full, evil glory, was Subject-38, still wearing that ridiculous black suit, its teeth visible in an obvious threat display as it stared down the captain. “What is it, demon?” Captain Alzilos asked, his voice dead and emotionless. “What could you possibly want? You want to gloat? Relish in your victory over me?”
“Actually, as much as I’d like to do that, I’ve been told to offer you and your people the chance to surrender,” Subject-38 said, its tone making it perfectly clear to the captain what it would like to see happen. “In fact, I’m broadcasting this, and your response, to the entire fleet. I’ve been told to tell you and your krin to put down your arms, put your hands above your heads, and give yourselves up to our forces. Your troops will be fairly treated, and you’ll all be escorted back to the planet below, where you will wait for the quzin to come and gather you up. You’ll be fairly treated while under our care, far more so than if we were in yours, so I suggest you take it.”
Captain Alzilos stared up at the escaped experiment, his eyes full of hatred for what was basically the culmination of all the Empire’s failures, and let out a frustrated sigh. It’s not a bad offer. The Emperor already has what we came here for, and he would not forget about us. He would eventually come and rescue us… We would live to fight another day… However, as Alzilos considered the creature’s offer, a brief message flashed in the captain’s eyes, too quick for him to catch, and almost immediately he felt the fear and shame drain away. With renewed confidence, Captain Alzilos stood up, and stared down the nightmare. “No. We are soldiers, warriors of His Imperial Majesty. We live for his pleasure, and we die at his pleasure. Krin warriors, fight to the last! Make these insolent, detestable filth pay for every drop of blood spilled! For the Emperor!”
Subject-38 had an odd look in its eyes as it watched Alzilos give his little speech, one that the captain had a hard time placing because of his unfamiliarity with the experiment’s species. However, it had many facial features in common with the quzin, and according to Alzilos’s implants, the monster almost looked… worried? Like it pitied him? Whatever it was, it was gone in a flash, and the monster let out a sigh of defeat. “Well, despite your captain’s insane little speech, the offer still stands to all of you. Lay down your weapons, and surrender, and you will be treated fairly. Anyone not complying as I have described will be shot on sight.”
The creature then made a complicated number of grunts and wheezes, and it took Alzilos a little bit of time to realize that the creature must have been speaking in its native tongue. Whatever it was was pure gibberish to the captain, but he couldn’t help but feel like it was reporting to the savages exactly what Captain Alzilos had said.
The captain didn’t care, though. He was too busy ordering the bridge crew to begin unscrewing the chairs to use as a barricade for the bridge. His command crew obeyed, their loyalty absolute as they all prepared to make their final stand.
As Captain Alzilos threw another piece of furniture on the growing pile, he was distantly aware of the fact that several of his soldiers had already given up their honor and their place at the Battlewatcher’s table in exchange for their own worthless hides. He made careful note of each and every one, determined to make sure that none of them were ever let inside that wonderous place.
After all, there was no room in the Battlewatcher’s hall for traitors.