ã€ŠAscendancyã€‹


 Prologue: The Ascendancy Begins

    Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The rhythmic staccato of gunfire was a constant companion within the training yard. Whether from target practice or another of the youths like myself being executed for failure.

    we were soldiers bred for fighting, and dying. We succeeded and joined our brothers and sisters on the battlefield, or failed and were executed.

    We could not even truly fight back, we were programmed from birth to obey all orders from a recognized commanding officer, or trainer. I had witnessed my own sister blowing her own head off, not because she had failed, but to set that fact home to us fresh cadets at the time. We were expendable, and easily replaced.

    That had been when I was ten, I was eighteen now and the perfect soldier. From training, to physique, to thought process. I did as I was told, and when I was told to do it without question or thought.

    I had made my first kill when I was eleven, and commanded my first squad at the age of thirteen when I had shown promise. We were pitted against each other in this training field of super soldiers. We fought to kill, and survive. We did nothing else, thought of nothing else. Friends were a myth, everyone here was a potential enemy and target.

    The fact we were drilled with information about the Human Empire we were bred to serve and defend added to that brainwashing. Each of us were zealots in a cause we did not understand, or care to. We would be sent to any and all destinations once our squads were selected after this final contest.

    Two Officer Cadets, myself and another, with a handpicked squad from other possible graduates numbering ten would go to battle each other in a man made structure like maze. It was designed to test our thinking ability, planning skills, and risk management. If we could make the hard choices, sacrifice the one for the many to ensure victory.

    We could, and I was about to do just that. My squad still retained ten soldiers, we had killed two of our academy Brothers and Sisters already. The rest were playing a hiding game. If I were lucky, the young woman I had just sent out to draw enemy fire would survive, if not, at least it meant we had a location.

    Bang!

    A shot fired, her head exploded, and I turned in a fluid motion toward the flash of the bullet leaving the barrel, and unloaded three shots into the directions.

    ¡®Kill confirmed, Alpha 3 KIA, Alpha 1,2, and 4 move forward to Enemy location and sweep for any others in the area. Kill with extreme prejudice.¡¯

    I stated through the mic, a ragged yes sir of male and female voices rang through my head set. The Soldiers in question moved, and swept the area. One more of my men died, a young male I had enjoyed using as a second in command, pity. But we had wiped out another three enemy soldiers.

    ¡®Alpha 0, three targets confirmed kills, one KIA, orders?¡¯

    ¡®Alpha 2, progress deeper search and destroy. Alpha 6,9,8 flank right. Alpha 5 and 10 on me.¡¯

    ¡®Yes Sir!¡¯

    We moved out. I swept the area to the left of the main corridor. Bang! a bullet hit the woman to my right in the stomach, armor is an amazing factor. I swiveled my gun up onto the wall hanging with the other and shot a three round burst into the body. Our armor may be good, and would likely keep her alive, but it could not stand up to much. We had trainee armor along, after all.

    ¡®Alpha 5 hit, 40% survival chance. Continue moving Alpha 10.¡¯

    ¡®Sir, yes Sir!¡¯

    ¡®Make that 60% Sir, I plan to fight for the Empire!¡¯

    Spirit, we would need that to quell those that wished to rise against the Empire, and our Empress. I raised her chances of survival to 70% for that alone. She was already applying the standard med kit and digging the bullet out of her stomach muscle.

    We continued our sweep, finding nothing. Shots were fired and heard over our headsets, the sound echoing through the building.

    ¡®Shot fired, penned down in central hallway, Alpha 1 down, still breathing. Request immediate backup, enemy numbers 3, last surviving squad members.¡¯

    ¡®Alpha 4, return fire, use alpha 1 as a shield if needed. I want them down by two when we arrive.¡¯

    ¡®Sir, yes Sir. For the Empire!¡¯

    I heard the scream of Alpha 1 dying, and felt nothing. It was a required sacrifice to ensure victory. We made our way, sweeping every angle, just in case Alpha 4 was wrong in the heat of the moment.

    Upon arrival, Alpha 1 was dead, riddled with holes throughout her armor, and Alpha 4 was dying. But the enemy was dead. I walked up to him, seeing his battered armor, and the blood pooling around him.

    ¡°Good work Soldier, you died ensuring heroes would rise for the Empire.¡±

    He weakly saluted me, smiling with a mouth full of blood, before responding in a weak, raspy voice.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°All glory to our Empress, all glory to the future Heroes of The Empire, to you Captain, and the rest of our Squad. Please, make it quick.¡±

    I pulled out a Carbine Pistol that was strapped to my outer thigh, all Officer Cadets received one. They were to be used to ease the passing of a dying squad mate. I saluted him once, and shot him between the eyes, ending his pain.

    ¡°For The Empire¡± I stated, with utter conviction, and the rest of my squad echoed it. we left the building, moving as one, picking Alpha 5 up on our way out. She walked under her own power, the blood flow had been stopped with the med kit.

    When we exited, we were met by the calm claps of military superiors, Generals, and Admirals for ground and fleet commands.

    They were here to observe, and select the winning squads for their outfit. The Empress had a Proxy here as well, searching for those that might be of use to her. I prayed one day we would be graced with her magnificent presence, and have served the Empire proudly.

    As it was, we stood on display. The survivors, the Victors. Myself and the Six remaining members of my squad. We would be judged, evaluated and assigned. If we were lucky, we would be chosen by a General to be used as a special squad. If we were unlucky, we would be sent to the mobile Infantry that dealt with basic uprisings, and not the true threats of the masterminds.

    My Squad mates, four females, and two males were now my family. We were bonded eternal, and would now receive our names, rather than designations and numbers, and we would receive a Squad name. As it was, they were my Brothers and Sisters, the dead were only the dead.

    One of the Generals approached us, his walk crisp and precise.

    ¡°You have done the Empire, your Empress, proud this day Soldiers. You have passed through the Crucible of Death and come out Victorious on the other side. The promise you have shown, has made you eligible to be selected as a General''s personal Squad. Now, ATTENTION!¡±

    We all snapped to attention, arms behind our backs, grabbing our wrists, heads held high and legs spread apart.

    Another General arrived. He seemed fresh, a newly minted General in his later eighties now doubt, one of the few true benefits of our breeding was an elongated lifespan, the oldest soldier any of us had ever seen was the High General, the man who lived and breathed the Empress¡¯ orders at nearly 300 years of age. Very few made it past age 50 however. The Empire was seldom peaceful. It spanned too far across the Star System to be peaceful for long.

    ¡°This is General Azazel! He has been given the command of overseeing the Delta Quadrant and the five planets therein. He is a new General with five Battle-cruisers, and ten Combat Grade Shuttles. You will be his first Personal Squad, if he accepts you. is that understood?¡±

    ¡°Sir, Yes Sir!¡± we all said at once.

    The fit man observed us, his eyes were calculating and cold. Measuring us, weighing us, seeing if we would bend. we did not. Finally, he said at ease, we stood at ease.

    ¡°You are the survivors, and show much promise. I had to turn in countless favors to ensure I would have first selection of the countless that would graduate today. You are my pick. You will serve me, the Empire, and The Empress with utter devotion and pride. You will show me I was right to pick you. Is that understood?¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    ¡°Good, your squad is named the Death Dealers. You will be the Angels of my swift and harsh punishment within my quadrant. Your personal names will be chosen once we arrive upon my personal Battle-cruiser. Follow me!¡±

    He turned on his heel, and marched out. We followed, sparing not even a glance at our surroundings, our sights trained on the man that held our leash. We would be his personal hit squad, his personal Soldiers, the first of no doubt dozens.

    We would die for him, and kill for him. He was our owner, and as such nothing save defiling our Empress, or Empire would break us from him. He had taken a chance, as the only method a new General could rise in prominence was through the accomplishments of his First Personal Squad. We would be the first of many, that I swore to myself. Regardless of how many of my family must die and be replaced in time, I would ensure this man rose so high that my Brothers and Sisters and I would meet our Empress, and bask in her eternal glory. This man was our present, and future. As we were his instruments to Glory, and Victory.

    We moved, toward our lives as the ¡®Death Dealers¡¯ a Squad name that would live in the annals of history, I swore it would be so.

 Chapter One: The Forming

    We followed the General, our one and only Superior aside from the Empress herself. As a Personal Squad we obeyed only two individuals, not even the High General could command us. Only our assigned General, and the Empress now had that pleasure.

    Our General was an average of build man. Short hair, cropped close to the scalp in military fashion, a pristine uniform littered with medals, and a body that was no doubt the equal of my own in physique. No soldier, regardless of rank was allowed to let themselves lose their edge, after all.

    He was a relatively stocky man as well, plain in appearance with strong features. His eyes were a clear hazelnut color, and held steel within the depths. He would be a good man to follow, to serve under, and dedicate my life along with my squads lives to.

    ¡°Alpha 0, walk beside me¡± His voice was an order, clear and concise. I walked up, matching my stride with his, he was about a foot taller than my 5¡¯5¡± stature. He glanced toward me a moment, and then began speaking again.

    ¡°You will be losing your designation and number upon arrival at my personal cruiser, how does that make you feel Soldier?¡±

    I spoke without hesitation, and promptly. ¡°I feel nothing Sir, aside from satisfaction that I will be given the opportunity to guarantee you rise further within the General Ranks. I am a Soldier, and therefore do not think. I obey.¡±

    He allowed the silence to stretch for a moment, seeing what I would do no doubt. I would do nothing to contradict the truth of my convictions and service. Not now, not ever. I was the Sword, and Shield of the Empire. The executioner of its will, and through it, my Generals will.

    ¡°An interesting answer, Soldier. Very concise, I see they have upped the training since my time. No room for thought in that mind of yours, beyond orders, and obeying them. Is there?¡±

    ¡°Sir, no Sir!¡± I stated without thinking. I was a warrior, plain and simple.

    ¡°Good, you will also be taking in another four Soldiers from my personal men and women to fill the empty slots within your ranks. I expect you to make them each as well tuned, and trained as you and the other members of the Death Dealers. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡± Good, more numbers to become family, assuming they survived. I expected of any number of those given half would die, and the other half would fail. I would accept the best, and only the best to join the ranks of my Generals first personal Squad. His Death Dealers, his Angels of destruction and carriers of his will.

    ¡°Good enough, fall back in line. We will speak more when we arrive at the Cruiser.¡±

    I fell back in line. My Squad remained as silent as I did, the only sound entering the long hallway our footsteps. There was more of course, the random clatter of scuffed boots upon the metal floors, the distant echo of the firing range along with the screamed orders of drill sergeants forcing the next generation of recruits through their paces.

    We were currently making our way through the main faculty of the Academy where the lunch was served, we were given a total of fifteen minutes to eat. Uniform, and cohesive in the procedures of our daily lives. We would leave the vast majority behind in favor for this new life.

    When we reached the docking bay where incoming, and outgoing ships were settled, we were led to the private sector. It was reserved for Generals, and their staff mostly.

    ¡°Sir, we have finished refueling, and restocking you shuttle for your return trip.¡± The dock attendant informed my General of this within seconds of arrival. I should begin iterating the fact that there are rules in terms of addressing, and interacting with our higher military staff, more so with those that have reached General ranking.

    First rule, you do not get within four feet of a General unless expressly allowed, or in times of emergencies. Second, you may not address a General without him first addressing you. This Dock Hand was young, likely trying to get on his good side.

    I did not wait for orders, or think beyond the first process of he was to close. I moved forward with three large steps, planted a single punch into the Dock Hands gut, doubling him over. Then I grabbed his right arm, twisted it back, and shoved him forward and down forcing him to the ground, my free hand grabbing the carbine pistol on my thigh. I pressed it to the back of his head, and looked toward my General. It was his choice if the Dock Hand would die.

    The Hand in question was still stunned, it had taken all of five seconds to reach and disable him. I felt his trembling when he realized there was a gun pressed to the back of his head. He no doubt realized he had broken protocol in the presence of a General, one with a Personal Squad at this point.

    I felt his body tense, and I very slowly made the Carbine pin pull back, the click audible in the now silent hanger. He froze, I did not look anywhere but at my General who was regarding the entire event with a calculating detachment.

    The General finally nodded, an unspoken consent to do what protocol demanded. I looked down into the dark mass of hair the barrel of my gun was pressed against. I went to a dark place within my mind, I didn¡¯t need to of course, but it was a practice we were encouraged to do. To detach ourselves from events like this. Saved our minds, and allowed harsher methods to be used.

    I felt his body quaking in fear as I held him down, I waited a single moment, and then fired. The gunshot rang out through the Hanger, the other Hands instantly had other things to do. I allowed the dead man to fall to the ground, covering the hole created by my bullet in the floor. His blood pooling around the ground, bits of grey brain matter leaking out with it.

    I holstered my weapon and moved back to my place behind General Azazel. The General sniffed lightly, and stepped over the pooling blood making his way toward the shuttle he was in possession of. My Squad and I followed behind him, a few feet behind. We were the only ones allowed so close without warranting execution. We were to die for him, and kill for him.

    The Shuttle in question was an average one. Single drive core, able to traverse between the planet and orbiting Cruiser without issue. They excelled in air to land collision survival rating, and were prime examples of scouting ships. This particular model was a T-7 Drago. It was an older model, fewer capabilities compared to the last five years of advancements, but it was by far the most heavily armored. It made me wonder if my General was expecting trouble.

    I examined the hull of the ship as we walked up toward it, no scorch marks from ship fire, or scratches from rough landings. Relatively pristine condition, perhaps he was just cautious?

    The General stopped just shy of the side port that would lead us into the Ship. He turned toward us, and we came to attention. Taking in our appearance, the trainee armor, and weaponry he raised an eyebrow, and then spoke.

    ¡°Strip, leave the gear of youth behind. I have something special for you all upon arrival. My first Personal Squad will have the best equipment, and that is not the best. Remove all articles of clothing, armor, and weaponry.¡±

    He turned and went inside, we stripped out of our trainee armor before the hatch closed and followed within. The single weapon I would miss was my carbine pistol, but it was no longer useful to me.

    We entered, nude and uncaring. We were military, our bodies were weapons not sexual objects. The General went over our bodies with a keen eyes, nodding at whatever it was that he saw, and had us put on basic grey uniform clothing. They had black stripes going down the left side, but were otherwise plan.

    ¡°These will be your down time clothing. Seldom will you need them, so you get two pair alone. Expect to be armored, and armed more than you see these. I have great plans for my quadrant, and you all will be the first to ensure them.¡±

    We dressed, and remained standing while our General took a seat. The ship started, the large drive core vibrating and loud as we took to the air, leaving each level of atmosphere on the remote planet near the Empire''s core worlds.

    There were no windows, the only windows were in the cock pit. As such, we saw nothing of the planet below. It worked for us, because we would never return unless our General demanded it. Assuming we survived our first missions.

    I clenched my fist lightly, swearing I would survive, and ensure my Squads name went down in history once more. I looked to each of my squad mates, my brothers and sisters beside me. My brothers were like me, build wise. Lean hard muscle without an ounce of fat. We have shaven heads, and were scarred from head to toe as the showings of our tribulations.

    My sisters were the same. All Trainees shaved their heads bald, and like myself and my brothers they were lean and hard muscled, though clearly female. Those that genetically modified us within the womb took into account what others may wish for sexually, should an operation require more than killing. As such we each were prime examples of sexual preference, and desire while feeling none ourselves.

    No doubt they would be required to grow their hair out from now on, as would we brothers no doubt. It would depend on our General. As it was, aside from genders, a few inches difference in height, and minor skin coloration we were exact carbon copies of each other. None of us shared the same mothers of course, though each had been soldiers themselves, a previous generation of modified warriors.

    It took four hours after breaking the atmosphere to reach the personal cruiser of our General. I would request an entire floor plan, and construction plan of the ship to familiarize myself with every inch, and begin my duties as the leader of his First Personal Squad to ensure nothing was put to chance.

    I knew it would be expected, to secure the ship while not on a OP. When we docked within the cruiser, the General rose, and we followed him out. Upon entering the Cruiser itself, the General spread his arms wide while he continued his even and precise pace out of the Docking bay. No doubt heading toward a private area.

    ¡°Welcome, to Firestorm! My personal Cruiser, and base of operations and control for the Delta Quadrant. We will arrive at my quarters within the hour, and i will grant you your names, and instructions that will be carried out promptly. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡± We replied as one, loudly. It earned us a few looks from the dock workers, we ignored the looks in general.

    We made our way through the hanger, exiting it and entering the main hallways of the ship. It was a Battle-cruiser class 5. A top of the line, state of the art system run by 2000 personnel, each with their own unique training and skill set. Alongside those 2000 individuals there were at least 5000 basic soldiers. The front line infantry, for lack of a better term. They served as the core of every Generals ground or air forces depending upon their training. They were below us, as a Personal Squad. We were the only ones given a select name, and the freedom to do anything and everything to ensure a mission''s success within the limitations set by our General. Unlike the normal soldier, failure was not an option for us either. We would be executed if we failed a mission, unless our General believed it was a warranted and unavoidable loss. It rarely was seen as such, based upon our texts covering such.

    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Still, it was one of the most coveted positions for any Soldier to be placed within a Personal Squad. More so in the Academy. Killings occurred for far less, butchered scenes occurred in response to being told by another student that they did not deserve the honor. I had killed my fair share of Academy recruits for implying the same to me before. As had my Brothers and Sisters.

    As the first of the Personal Squads that would be taken in by General Azazel we had prime pick of OPS as well as replacement soldiers from his personal forces. Those that manage to distinguish themselves to either myself, or my General.

    The ship''s design was standard military, straight corridors, and multiple intersections. It was also an eight level large Cruiser, the space required to house so many people. It would also make my job somewhat more difficult in terms of learning every single point within the ship, from main access ways, to the hidden ducts that would spiderweb their way through it behind the walls.

    Our Generals quarters were on the uppermost level of the ship, in the rear most section. It was a lavish affair of ornamentation and decorations. Several busts of our Empress were present, along with his personal Army crest, a pair of bloodied wings framing a sword.

    He had us take a knee, an ancient ceremony according to our texts to link us further with our General, as knights of a long forgotten past did with their Liege Lords.

    ¡°You know, I met her once. Our Empress, and she was truly magnificent. Beauty incarnate, and of a great military heritage. One day, if you do well, I will allow you the same honor. But for now, you have earned your names. As my crest is that of bloodied wings cut free of the fallen, so to shall you be my fallen avengers. The sword to strike all in my way. Do you swear your lives to me?¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡± we responded as one, going through our very short ritual.

    ¡°Very well, your names. Alpha 0, you shall be known as Lucifer Morningstar. Alpha 5, you will be Gabriel Bloodhammer. Alpha 6, Castiel Voidslayer. Alpha 7, Azza Strongarm. Alpha 8, Lilith Forsworn. Alpha 9, Mastema Coldfire. Alpha 10, Zepar Strife. You six men and women are my sword. Your orders are simple, you will carry these names as my Fallen Death Dealers and crush all in the Empire''s way. First, you will go to the armory on level 2 and meet with my weapons and armor expert Fred, he will outfit you with the equipment I have set aside. Then, you will make yourselves ready for your first mission, and meet me on the bridge of this ship in the foremost section of Level 3. Understood?¡±

    We rose, dawning our new names and accepting them. ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    My Brothers, Castiel and Gabriel and my Sisters Azza, Lilith, Mastema, and Zepar and I left the quarters and made our way through the corridors leading to an elevator system. We entered, and began our progression toward Level 2.

    ¡°Lucifer, what do you think we will be doing?¡± one of my Sisters asked, Azza. I turned to regard her a moment before moving my head back to stare straight into the closed elevator doors.

    ¡°I do not know, nor are we to question. We simply obey.¡± She paused, took a breath as if she would say more but stopped. Likely one of the others silently having her let it go. They held a sort of camaraderie, and I did with them as well. But I must maintain my Captain title in all aspects, and that included, but was not limited to, keeping a set distance between my command and myself.

    When we arrived at the armory on Level 2, I located the man named Fred, a short man with glasses and fiery red hair, wearing a lab coat. I regarded him with some level of shock. He was not in anyway what a weapon, or armor inventor should appear as. Least of all the personal creator for our General.

    ¡°Ah! Come, come. This way, don¡¯t dally. Our General hates tardiness after all and I need to go over your armor, and weapon specs with you.¡±

    I didn¡¯t even have time to truly respond, we were ushered forward to a wall covered with seven fully assembled suits of armor, with three weapons lain out in front of them on a table. They were black primarily, with a secondary coloration of a dark red that made it shine, more than clash or blend. On the right portion of the chest was the crest of General Azazel, the blood stained wings folded over the sword.

    Beneath the crest was an ancient saying, Respice Finem. It was Latin, and a truly archaic and dead language meaning ¡®Regard the End¡¯ when loosely translated. I frowned at it, we hardly regarded the end, but I was sure our General has his reasons for having it placed upon the armor. The armor build itself was a full body suit of heavy armor, and appeared mostly mechanical in origin, likely holding several sub routine systems to aid in control. (A.N for a base reference think of the armor suits from Halo 5: Guardians. Loks team.)

    ¡°Now, this is a prototype I have been making under General Azazel¡¯s orders. Each is designated usage for only his Primary Squad, the Death Dealers. You guys, and are heavily coated in bullet resistant armor, with an external, and internal shield for energy based weapon fire as well for any possible events involving you being spaced and trying to survive off the built in oxygen to make it back while attempting to avoid ship fire.¡± He paused a moment before continuing.

    ¡°He really had me go all out in making these. Luckily, your strength should help you move as you do now in these bulky things but speed has been sacrificed to ensure survival over other things. To combat that we have added jumper boosts, along with a target aiding system in the full helmets that will automatically scan and upload a miniature map of your area based upon our ship up-link. There is a small lag, but that is being handled. It will allow a tactical advantage based in real time when facing enemies of the Empire that know their land better than you will.

    Moving on to your weapons, we have standard issue firearms, each modded slightly. We have a basic .45 caliber pistol, increased barrel size for a little more accuracy, and a large clip load out of forty bullets per clip. Fully customized for your missions, it has a silence mode as well for assassinations. Truly a marvel to pack that power, upgrade it, and ensure silence when needed

    Then we have your standard pump action shotgun. Combat grade for close range affairs when dealing with possible melee encounters. This is the nifty feature however.¡± He pushed a button on the side of the shotgun, it was smaller than what we trained with, and it...collapsed upon itself into a square he then fit into a small slot in the left arm of the armor. ¡°It is a hidden secret if captured alive. Simply aim your arm the right way, and manage to hit the square it is in on your forearm, and it launches out, firing a single shot right away with a single use shot designed to break cups. Low caliber, won¡¯t penetrate your armor.

    Then we have this beauty, the AK - 99 a semi-automatic rifle. It shoots in controlled burst of three shots, able to go fully automatic, or single shot as well. This masterpiece has the ability to hold up to 300 rounds per clip, elongated storage capacity. It also has mods to allow it to become a sniper rifle, that was a fun trick, not to mention the grenade launcher function. It holds three grenades within a lower portion that you pump the barrel to load and fire. Your Armor comes with several different Grenades within the belt, stores the same as the shotgun, that can be changed out depending on need. Your Armor also holds ten spare clips for each of these guns. More than enough for your standard OP run. Beyond that, steal the enemies.

    I cannot stress this enough however, DO NOT leave your weapons behind. It is prototype technology and cannot be placed in enemy hands.¡±

    He finished his introduction, and we stepped up to take our armor. It seemed genetically linked, apparently only we would be able to use the respective gear unless Fred here personally unlinked it for a new Squad mate to take it up. Interesting feature.

    I touched the Armor itself, and it collapsed upon itself in sections, where I was then directed to place each section in its proper place. It instantly grew, conforming and spreading out along my body to cover every inch of me.

    My vision went dark a moment, then the visor lit up and I could see. Information was displayed about my surroundings, as well as my Squad-mates, each linked to my own Armors system under their names. Good, that would aid in distinction between friend and foe.

    I went to the weapons, taking the shotgun and collapsing it before placing it in my left forearm slot, I attached the pistol to my outer right thigh, and the AK-99 went to my lower back, just above my hips.

    When we were fully geared, and prepared to head out, Fred whistled lightly at us. ¡°You guys look bad-ass! I¡¯m a genius among geniuses for this one!¡±

    I turned to regard him, and he froze, coughing lightly at the fully weight of my attention. I did not like the man, no discipline, even with these weapons and the Armor he was a hazard. I was already planning how to kill him, and he had learned as much judging by his now pale face.

    We left shortly after, Fred alive and well for the time being. We made our way through the Ship to the third Level, and the foremost section of that. We received looks from all around us, soldiers and personnel alike. The first sight of the Personal Squad of General Azazel, his Death Dealers.

    We looked the part as well, black armor that seemed to shine with a red akin to blood, and our fully armored appearance while fully armed. When we arrived on the bridge, the pilots turned as one to regard us, General Azazel turning last of all. We saluted him, and he smiled. I believe it was the first smile I have seen on a superior.

    ¡°Welcome to my Bridge. We will be arriving within the Quadrant under my command in five minutes. We will be orbiting the Smallest planet within the Quadrant. It is a greenery heavy planet filled with dangerous wildlife and prime farmland. It¡¯s name is Eden, an apt name in truth considering its importance. Your mission will be to land on Eden, and wipe out an entire settlement, one of the largest. Rebels have taken up residence within the community, and whether by design, or accident the locals have allowed them to do so rather than kill them for the Empire, and Empress.

    This makes them accomplices, you are to leave none alive. If any escape, hunt them down. I will replace the people and make that town profitable again by loyal Citizens.¡± He gave us a single hard look, searching our Armored faces as he finished his orders.

    ¡°I mean a full cleanse, Soldiers, down to the last infant. None are to survive. You will have air support, and a minor amount of ground support. Beyond that, you are on your own. Do the mission as you see fit, but ensure no survivors. Understood?¡±

    We saluted, the Armor clinking as we came to full attention and banged our fists over our hearts. ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    Our first mission, or first objective, and our first step to ensuring our Eternal Empire was cleansed of Rebel scum. My Squad and I, the Death Dealers, moved out toward the Hanger and a shuttle. We would slaughter the town, for our General, for our Empire, for our Empress.

 Chapter Two: Arriving on Eden.

    We arrived at the hanger on Level One just as we arrived over the Planet Eden. The energy fields that separated the hanger bay from the cold vacuum of space greeted us with the sight of the Planet itself. It was a lush green planet from up here. Beautiful in appearance with dots of blue where there were no doubt bodies of water. I could see why it might be called Eden, or ¡®Perfection¡¯ in the old tongue used long before Humanity took to the stars.

    Upon that green planet my squad and I would be burning a farming community to the ground, down to the very last crying babe. We were approached by one of the dock workers, he was hesitant and seemed somewhat scrawny for someone needed to lift heavy metal beams, and repair shuttle jumpers.

    ¡°You the Squad being sent planet side for a Rebel sweep?¡± He was sweating, perspiration showing either strain, fear, or overheating. I did not care which.

    ¡°We are, is our shuttle prepped for departure?¡± My voice sounded oddly distant to my ears, no doubt a cause of coming out through a filter to be clearly heard.

    ¡°Y-yes Sir. You also will have one extra shuttle of ground troops to act as your support. Single squad of five soldiers. I- I believe they are experienced in this sort of OP¡± I just stared at him, why was he rambling?

    He pointed us toward our shuttle. It was an old model, like the one we arrived in though painted in our Squads colors. Black with that odd sheen of red that made it seem to shine bloody. Our Generals crest was implanted upon the side of the hull, and under it was the old saying that matched our suits. ¡®Respice Finem¡¯ No doubt our General desired that to be our respective prayer or battle cry.

    When we reached our shuttle, I noticed a second just behind, blocked from view by the first. A small group of five soldiers dressed in basic field combat gear to provide the maximum amount of mobility, and as much armor as it could were meandering around the entrance. One of them noticed us, and nudged a large black man that looked toward us and came alive. He straightened, and motioned for the others around him to follow.

    I stopped, my Squad stopping with me as they approached. I was frowning, these constant conversations were ruining my planned time table to begin our first Operation. They stopped around six feet from my group, well within range of a few steps, but far enough to allow weapons to be drawn. Experienced? The gear they wore was colored similar to our own, though in muted undertones rather than standing out.

    ¡°You greenies the new arrivals meant to be Azazel¡¯s Personal Squad?¡± He said, absently butchering the words with an odd dialect I had never heard. A mix of old English, and new English that made him sound somewhat hickish. I did not oversee the lack of formality when mentioning the General either.

    I regarded him, contemplating how long it would take to close the distance, dodge the first gunshot they would get off, and place my pistol directly against his skull. It would be warranted, but if this was our support I needed to keep them alive, for now.

    ¡°Cat got your tongue Greenie?¡± He laughed, his buddies laughed, and my squad and I just stood there at perfect attention.

    ¡°No, a cat does not have my tongue. You will also refer to me as either ¡®Sir¡¯ or ¡®Captain¡¯. You will follow proper protocol when addressing me, or my Squad. You will also never again refer to General Azazel as simply ¡®Azazel¡¯. Grunts like you have not, nor ever shall, receive the right for such informality. Am I clear?¡±

    They paused, seemingly stunned at what I had stated. I saw one of the smaller men take a step forward, his mouth opening to no doubt say something regarding us ¡®Greenies¡¯. He never got the chance to utter a word, Azza had stopped it cold with the barrel of her freshly minted AK - 99 pointed directly at him. No doubt sighted between his eyes.

    The tension rose in octaves every passing second. I saw one of the others slowly reach for his gun, and my hand went to my pistol and had it drawn and pointed within a fraction of a second. ¡°Don¡¯t¡± my only words, my last words. If he drew, support or not, I would kill them all.

    The big man put his hands up, and backed away a step. ¡°Woah, easy now boys. Let¡¯s not do this, A...General Azazel won¡¯t like us fighting. Ease down Franklin.¡± the one that had his hand near his gun slowly moved his hand back. The look he gave ensured he would be a casualty of the conflict below. I would allow no descent among my assigned support personnel.

    I holstered my pistol, and spoke without looking toward Azza. ¡°Gun up, Azza. The matter is settled.¡± She holstered the weapon without a word, assuming an at the ready stance. ¡°Get loaded up, we leave in two minutes. Follow behind, once we arrive I will formulate a plan of action.¡±

    The big man nodded, I¡¯d have to teach him to salute as well, it appeared. But later, for now they may be needed. Once I learned the situation in its entirety before beginning the assault, that could change. They went to their shuttle, and we entered our own. It was sparse, lockers filled with ammo clips, and basic military gear. Though there was a scorpion missile launcher within one of the lockers as well. That might be useful for that.

    I stuck my head into the cockpit and saw a pilot. Odd, I tapped his shoulder and he looked back at me, giving me a small salute. ¡°Sir, we are ready to launch.¡± shocking, he knew what to do. Good, I could keep him then.

    ¡°Make ready, depart in one minute.¡± He saluted once more and began doing a systems check. I might like this pilot, quiet and following military protocol as best as his seated position allowed.

    I banged my closed fist lightly on the entrance to the cockpit and turned around to see my Squad settling into their respective seats. Each one was going over their gear. We had only the three weapons to go over, but a great deal of clips and grenades to fiddle with on how to remove and use properly.

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    I took a seat and began doing the same. I touched a section of my belt and a collapsed clip popped out, I checked it. It held forty bullets, a clip for my pistol. I pushed the only noticeable button and it collapsed upon itself into a five inch thick square. I check my belt, and there were three more squares in the same general location, and a large hole in my belt.

    Interesting, rather simple in appearance and function though I doubted the science behind it was simple. I didn¡¯t care much, beyond basic maintenance and that it worked however. I placed the clip back into the slot it went into, and went around the belt. Shotgun clip holding twenty shells, the long collapsed clips for the AK-99.  I had three kinds of grenades, five small balls each that were odd from what I had been trained in.

    First off, they were all balls with different color. I assumed the yellow were flash-bang, the red were obviously incendiary in origin, the black I had no idea, perhaps simple grenades? I would test it in this OP to be sure of the function.

    I checked my pistol, and a small button just above the trigger guard caused the barrel to round out and elongate two inches. This was the silencer, interesting. I fiddled with it further, basic pistol beyond the Mods, and improvements. Taking it apart and cleaning it would be a simple matter, judging by the other weapons it would be the same with them. A great deal to learn, and memorize to properly use to the fullest their capabilities. They would be my tools for as long as I was alive, after all.

    ¡°We are about to begin breaking through the planet''s atmosphere, Sir!¡± The pilot called back, causing me to look up from my investigation. Rising from my seat I went to the cockpit entrance, staring out at the planet as we began to descend.

    The shuttle jumped, and rocked entering the exosphere. It evened out after a moment, though continued to rattle with each sphere we broke through until we reached the troposphere. Exiting the first layer of atmosphere that separated Eden from the vacuum of space, the ship evened out relatively quickly and allowed us a smooth low air flying, just above the massive greenery.

    ¡°We are approximately ten miles from the village rumored to hold Rebel activity, Sir. General Azazel left a mission summary on what he would prefer for preliminary operational undertaking within the side panel just behind the entrance to the cockpit. I have been requested to inform you of this, and then proceed with standard landing protocol.¡± He paused a moment, smoothly avoiding an unnaturally large tree with blue vines that looked like they snaked toward us for a moment.

    ¡°Standard protocol has us landing within the Village itself, Sir. It will both arouse suspicion in any Rebels present, and be somewhat routine for the Village. General Azazel has regular military sweeps to aid the Villages of each planet fight the native wildlife. As such, they will see you, his personal squad, as a test of sorts. Eden does have the most ferocious of beasts within the Quadrant, after all.¡±

    I didn¡¯t bother replying, instead moving back a bit to look at the summary provided. The words scrolling through the screen were relatively basic concepts. The missions end result was the utter annihilation of every single living soul within the Village. He has no set time, so I would be allowed freedom to go about it as I wished.

    The summary included several options I could choose, from picking them off one by one in the night, explosives, and several other such methods. I decided I would finish the first OP within three days, that was my set time limit. Long enough to show I ensured each individual was killed, short enough to show I had a deep and seated drive to succeed as quickly as possible.

    I¡¯d get accustomed to the villagers, learn the layout of the jungle, aid in defense if the wildlife struck, use this to build trust. It would make it easier to slaughter them all like the pathetic rebel sympathizers they no doubt were.

    I placed the detailed summary back in its holding slot, and turned to regard my Brothers and Sisters as we arrived at the village, the slowed descent of the shuttle evidence to such.

    ¡°Infiltration method 35, gain the Villagers trust, show no sign of our true goals. Do what you need to upon arrival to earn the trust of the common folks, do a request within the Village, plan to do a sweep of the surrounding area later to clear out wildlife. We have a three day time limit, learn the layout, structural weaknesses, weapon cache locations. If our Support ground team hinders us, dispose of them quietly in the jungle. Understood?¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡± I nodded, unholstered my pistol to gain one last glimpse of my preferred weapon, and holstered it again. I felt as the shuttle touched down, and the sound of the rear hatch opening to allow us to debark from the shuttle itself. The slight static click of the Pilot speaking to us via a secure radio channel. ¡°Good luck, Sir. Show them what it means to betray the Empire!¡±

    Radio Silence ensued after that, and we stepped onto the very first planet aside from the Core World training Academy that we had grown up on. Time for Operation: Eden''s Fire to commence.

    <hr />

    Somewhat short Chapter, I have decided that the Chapter before an Operation, or Mission begins will be a short lead up with details about how the Mission/OP is desired to happen. The next chapter will be a bit coming, because I will be splitting it into three chapters or ''episodes'' for this OP to represent the days, and they will each be relatively long. I intend to detail a great deal, and I will warn any and all readers at this point. Very graphical, and detailed descriptions of violence, gore, and murder will be occurring within these Chapters. Read further at your Own risk.

    As always, much love and cookies.

 Chapter Three: Gaining Trust, and Complications. Eden Fire - 1

    The first sight upon exiting the Shuttle was that of a small building directly before us, a few people meandering about it to catch a glimpse of the soldiers debarking from the craft. It appeared to be eight individuals, two children.

    The Planet had not changed how they looked, or grew as some of the harsher Planets might do to the Human Populations as they adapted. It meant my calculations would not need to change a very great deal. I regarded the small child, no more than four, holding her Mothers hand. She would not be able to move quickly enough on those small legs to avoid being killed. It made my job far easier.

    Judging by the looks, we were also a shock to them as well. No doubt they have never before seen a Personal Squad of a General. Though it was obvious we were just that, based on the fact that below our Generals Crest, which all Soldiers wore under a certain General, was a custom saying. Our ¡®Respice Finem¡¯.

    I turned to watch as our support personnel shuttle came in beside ours. I frowned behind the helmet. I disliked these undisciplined soldiers. It would have been another matter if they acted like they had some sort of training. Instead they had been lax, and almost all died on the Battlecruiser.

    The fact I was planning to kill one, if not all of them in this OP, depending on their performances, was neither here nor there either. The Villagers had an oddly different form of greeting for these five. Still cautious, but a few of the youths that had been hiding had run out to greet one or two of them.

    That might complicate matters later, I doubted these soldiers could put a bullet through a child¡¯s skull, or back. Another complication within my plans. I disliked complications. ¡°Move out. Lilith, with me.¡±

    I moved toward the group, Lilith trailing half a step behind me while the rest of my squad split once more. Two moving to the the Support Squad, the rest moving in two groups of two throughout the Village. No one was allowed to move about alone. Standard sweep protocols, I needed to ensure nothing beyond usual suspicion and fear was created, for now.

    ¡°Who, and where is your Village Mayor?¡± I asked of the group in front of the small building. I was met with blank stares, as though they had not heard. I repeated the question once more. Just before feeling I might need to harm one of them, sliming our chances some, the little girl came closer and spoke.

    I leaned down, moving to take a knee and stare at her through my helmet. ¡°Repeat yourself, please.¡± He voice was soft, and sweet. It reminded me of my Sisters.

    ¡°The Mayor is Mr. Baxter, he should be at the barricade Mr. Soldier.¡± She fiddled a bit more, and seemed to build up some courage, she asked a question soon after. ¡°Can I see you without your helmet?¡±

    The girls Mother rushed forward, hissing a rebuke at her. ¡°Melody! I¡¯m sorry, Sir, she is but a child...please forgive her¡­¡± I tilted my head up at the woman, and rose slowly, menacingly. I would need to adapt the persona of a Soldier who cared. Easier said than done. But I would manage.

    As I rose, the woman grew more afraid, picking her daughter up and stumbling over apologies and requests for forgiveness. I leaned in close to the little girl, Melody, who seemed confused and raised my right hand to hit a small button at the base of my helmet, just above my spine.

    I saw the little girls face gasp in shock, and I forced a smile onto my Stoic face. The woman paled some, but I ignored her and told the child ¡®Boo¡¯. She giggled and hid, acting shy as she did so. Children were fonts of information, and I would use her naivety against her.

    Melody stopped giggling, her Mother seemingly petrified. ¡°Your Mommy, she seemed shocked. Why is that little Angel?¡± I asked, adopting a soft spoken tone, something that would lull in another and have them feel inclined to trust me. It did not always work, but it was basic protocol for infiltration or information gathering Operations. At least, that is what our training had shown.

    The fact that if we failed, we were killed, were very strong motivators for us all in the Academy. The little girl blushed at me, and shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± she whispered, still shy. She looked at Lilith, clearly female in her Armor.

    ¡°What about you?¡± she asked, more boldly. I turned toward Lilith, and made a slight nod to show her she should follow my lead. We needed to earn these people¡¯s trust after all. When her own helmet retracted into the main body of the armor suit, it showed a beautiful face, a small scar tracing just below her right eye, the only mar on her attractive face, with vibrant purple eyes. A common color for Genetically altered Humans, my own were a green to bright they looked like emeralds, after all.

    ¡°Pretty!¡± Melody screamed out, and I saw Lilith Blush demurely, an act of course, each of us had undergone such perversions we had no room for such quaint notions and modesty, or embarrassment, though we could fake it.

    I smiled brightly at the child. ¡°Would you like to see her closer, little Angel?¡± I asked. Melody Nodded and fought free of her Mothers grasp to rush over to Lilith, who had knelt down already and was allowing the child to touch every part of her face, even the bald head.

    The child frowned a bit, patting her scalp. ¡°Why do you not have hair?¡± I found the question personally odd, it was common knowledge all soldiers kept their heads clean shaven during the Acedmy, though she was but a child.

    ¡°Melody! I¡¯m sorry Ma¡¯am¡­¡± Lilith held a hand up, and smiled at the Mother, putting into her purple eyes all the adoration and care only another Mother could show, fake of course. ¡°It¡¯s all right, Miss. I have no hair, little one, because I am a fresh Graduate of the Academy. Our General chose us as his Personal Squad, and our first mission is to help the Villages of Eden.¡±

    Good, she was using common knowledge, easily acquired through hacking, and that would be all that was on record as well. The true mission was known only to the Soldiers present. ¡°Wow! That¡¯s amazing! Hey, hey, what¡¯s your name? Mine is Melody! I wanna be a Soldier for the Empire too when I grow up!¡±

    Lilith smiled at the little girl, and patted her head with her armor plated hand, gently. ¡°I¡¯m Lilith, my Captain there is Lucifer. And that is a very wonderful dream, Melody. When you graduate the Academy, look us up, I would love to speak with you again then as well.¡±

    The little girl said ok, and her Mother snatched her up and took off with the others. The look she gave us was pure fear, not something she should feel at all. Rebel? Or Rebel Sympathizer? Both a possibility. I had Lilith and I leave our helmets off, would save time later. Then we made our way toward the Barricade, where the Mayor should be.

    I heard Lilith say something softly, once she was sure no one would be around to hear. Her voice was no longer warm, and kind. It was cold and desolate. ¡°A shame the little girl must die. I think she would have made a wonderful Soldier in the future, as far as normal bred ones go.¡±

    I nodded my head, stating a single phrase as we arrived at the Barricade Wall. ¡°She will die a Hero of the Empire.¡±

    The Barricade was a massive, ten foot tall, wall that surrounded the Village itself, and would take several hours to traverse fully on foot. We had moved the way the little girl had pointed, and luckily found the Mayor here already.

    ¡°....Sheer the Wall up Guard Captain. We don¡¯t want any of the Brujaw to break through and kill anymore people.¡± The Mayor, an elderly man that seemed to have a great deal of vitality left within him, even opposed to his obvious advancement of years.

    When I made my way to him, dodging a few frantic workings as they rushed to plug a gap in the wall that was about the size of half our shuttle, that made for a very large creature. Sadly, the folder in regards to our mission had no details on local wildlife, predator or otherwise.

    ¡°Are you the Mayor, Mr. Baxter?¡± I asked when I arrived. The little old man jumped, and turned with a small scream. I resisted the urge to shoot him at the sudden turn and movements that could have been an attack in disguise, and raise an eyebrow in confusion. ¡°Mayor?¡±

    ¡°You scared me, Boy! Don¡¯t you know we just survived an attack of the Brujaw? What on Eden¡¯s lush green arse are you doing sneaking up on an old man like that?!¡±

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    Once more, the urge to shoot him, this time for being so disrespectful. But doing so would ensure my time table changed, would cause it all to change and possibly make it so I missed a few Villagers. That would not be allowed, instead I smiled lightly and continued this farce of a ¡®good¡¯ Soldier.

    ¡°Ah, forgive me, Mayor. I¡¯m Lucifer Morningstar, Captain of General Azazels first Personal Squad. This, is Lilith Forsworn, one of the women under my Command. We are here on a routine sweep and assist of Villages for the Planet Eden, as well as a census taking. Your Village is the first on our list. Now, what is a Brujaw?¡±

    I truly wished to know the last, the lie of a reason aside, any and all threats must be known, and assessed. The little old man pointed behind him at the gap in his surprisingly thick wall.

    ¡°The Brujaw is a massive Predator, solitary hunter and extremely powerful. We had one break through, a juvenile by the looks of it. It made off with two men on Guard before we could arrive to kill it. The bloody thing managed to escape! You¡¯re here on the Generals Orders, yes? Then you can assist us. I want that Brujaw Dead.¡±

    The Mayor was on a rant, and I allowed him to throw his spittle and continue his odd little tirade for a time longer. It consisted mostly about how the Brujaw would return, and these Beasts were actively hunted to ensure things like this did not happen in the areas that were populated. I had asked for a description, at some point.

    THe old man had called it a ¡®Demon¡¯ made flesh on this Planet of Eden. Demon, in the old tongue, abomination and a creature of the foulest depravities. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at such nonsense. That was when a young worker, hearing us speak, piped in his two cents.

    ¡°The Brujaw is a huge Predator with two horns at its temples and thick brown/green fur, with a large mane. It kind of resembles Humanities Cradle of Birth, Earth¡¯s Lion. According to ancient documentations. But it is not feline, it is a kind of sentient, and predatory Plant.¡±

    Now that was fairly interesting. Incendiary grenades should do the job well then. Our ¡®Support Personnel¡¯ arrived about then. The large Black Man I never got the name of whistling lightly as he stared at the wall.

    ¡°Brujaw, eh Old Man? You have some shitty luck!¡± The Old man made an odd gesture with his middle finger, creating a fist and leaving just it up aimed at the Black man, screaming out that the ¡®Whipper Snapper¡¯ could shove it up his Arse.

    I felt a headache coming on, dealing with this idiocy. About then the Black Man remembered I was there, turned to salute and called me Captain. Perhaps he would survive, he had learned something with regards to me.

    I nodded lightly, and the Old Man looked between us a bit. ¡°Jarome! Why are you guys taking orders from this Stripling?¡±

    ¡°General¡¯s Orders. We are their Support Personnel. They are at Half Strength, and we fill out the Numbers.  They are the Elites, Bred for War after all. No doubt lost half their people in the sham of an Academy where they pit them against each other, kill the Humanity inside they do.¡±

    I clenched my teeth. My fallen, while failures, had been the stepping stones to the formation of our Squad, the giving of Names for my Brothers and Sisters in arms. They had just insulted Heroes of the Empire. Heroes who had laid down their lives for the continuation, and preservation of our Mighty Empire by having us survive.

    But I could not strike him, I had a role to uphold, an ideal that must remain intact while on this mission. I had to act the normal Human. My Squad However, did not. The Two of my Men who had gone over with them, Castielle and Mastema had also removed their Helmets, though they were looking at Lilith.

    I turned my head to regard her as well, and was somewhat shocked. She was smiling, and it was not a kind smile. We had seen her smile like that in the Academy once before. It had been the only time in the recorded History of our Academy that an instructor had died in the crossfire of a fight.

    Lilith had been allowed to live, because of her extreme proficiency for combat, no one survived the Instructors in a fight, she had.

    The Black Man, Jerome, was laughing with the old man and his men when she moved forward. The smile itself, when shown, could be called sweet in appearance. But for us, any facial expression not a mask was not something good. We were, in the end, the products of war after all. Forged in the Crucible of Hell that was the Academy. To survive, we all became a kind of Monster.

    ¡°What is it Greenie Miss? Want some Black Meat to warm you up at night?¡± Jerome asked her, and she smiled. Tilting her head to the side. He continued a moment. ¡°I can certainly oblige, show you a better time than that Captain, though the ha¡­¡±

    He didn¡¯t get another word out after the last insult. Her first was a blur, connecting with the big mans jaw, then it was back at her side. He stood in perplexion a moment, then his eyes rolled back into his sockets and foma formed at his mouth.

    She had sent a single, well aimed, punch to the side of his skull. Her speed caused a minor lag in the results, but they were the same. She had knocked him out cold. He fell to the ground, and she nudged him with her foot.

    Luckily, this would be expected between Soldiers, to a degree. But I could not do it personally, nor could i have done it in such a manner. Lilith was the better close quarters fighter, I excelled in guns.

    ¡°The rest of you mighty Veterans, we are freshly minted, yes. But we are not ¡®Greenies¡¯. The place you insulted bred us, ensured our training, and that we would serve the Empire, and our Empress. The Fallen fell as Heroes, ensuring a stronger Generation of Soldiers..¡±

    ¡°Freaks, more like¡± the angry man from the Ship had said. The one that I had almost killed. He fell next, leaving three very stunned faces to look at Lilith, more if you counted the walking dead men at the wall. All who had frozen in place to watch.

    ¡°Do not insult their memory, and valor in front of me again.¡± She finished, the smile leaving her face. She kept the mask up though, the one of an angry woman who may have lost much in the fighting. Regardless of her strength, and differences from the normal Human, she would be seen as just that, a woman. The people would connect more to her than they would myself.

    A sad truth, for them. Women were the weaker Sex in normal people, but in the Program we were bred to, they were the Equal, if not superior warrior. ¡°Thank you, Lilith.¡± I stated, truth and mask. A Commanding Officer thanking his subordinate for upholding the natural order of things within the Military, and ensuring our Dominance.

    I turned to look at the Support Personnel. My voice came out with authority, and a strictness that vibrated with emotion I did not feel. ¡°You three, when they wake up inform them they are to hunt down, and kill this Brujaw creature. Just you five, return only when it is completed. Prove you are Soldiers of the Empire, and not lawless trash.¡±

    They saluted as one, casting a fearful look toward Lilith, and moved the two unconscious idiots away from the pathway, and the people that had just returned to work.

    ¡°Mayor, my Support Troops will end the Brujaw for you. My own men, and myself would like to assist in repairing this wall. Regardless of his phrasing, Private Jerome was correct in saying we were bred for our strengths. We can assist, and expedite the repairs of your wall, perhaps even aid in reinforcing them for you.¡±

    The Old Man gave me an odd look, then regarded Lilith before speaking Slowly. ¡°Aye, Captain. We would thank you for such assistance. Very Kind of you.¡±

    I saw a Flash in the Depths of his eyes, something that belied his age and seeming lack of a mind, regardless of his Vitality. The Old Man was making guesses now. He knew were were from the Academy, not just from a Military school, but were Bred, Genetically Altered Soldiers of War. I thought I saw a hint a fear.

    I had a feeling that these three days, as well as this OP had just become far, far more difficult...

 Chapter Four: Edens Fire 2

    ----------5 Hours Later-----------

    I was standing off to the side with Lilith. We had been assisting the Villagers rebuild and reinforce the broken section of their wall. The large Machinery they used aiding the process, and expediting it immensely.

    Azza was the only one of my men missing. She was currently with our Pilot, guarding the Shuttles. My Support Personnel had yet to return as well. Though I doubted they were all dead, they had been here and no doubt done this before.

    I did hope some would perish, regardless of the fact they may be needed later. The utter lack of full discipline was deplorable, to say the least. I understood the basis of the subjects taught to us in regards to how ¡®normal¡¯ Soldiers acted at times. The lack of formality, and oft times camaraderie that bound them as tightly as a Family.

    I did not understand the entirety of it, though the concept was not foreign. THose of us from the Academy were bound as well, though ours was a bonding from many years fighting to kill each other every waking moment of our lives, just to prove who was the strongest, who deserved to live and serve the Empire, and our Empress. A vast world of difference, for the same end result. We simply retained our decorum, it appeared.

    I continued observing the Villagers go about the last bit of work required to finish the walls. The clamor would mask the majority of what I stated, so I spoke without turning toward Lilith.

    ¡°Lilith, I have an objective for you.¡±

    She responded curtly, ever the prompt one. ¡°Sir?¡±

    ¡°The child, Melody. She liked you, take Zepar and befriend her further. Win the child over, learn about her Parents, and the Village. As well as tell her that soon you should play a game, a game that requires her to hide from her Parents, and that all the children should take part. It would make it more fun when they would be found. Go about it as you wish, but we must have at least fifty of the Villages Children for the plan to work, a backup in case something unexpected occurs.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡± She saluted, I could hear the metal clanking, then she went to grab Zepar beside Gabrial. Gabrial regard them both, then turned toward me. I motioned him to join me with a flick of my wrist. His job had been to learn the basic layout of the Village, and just how many people were reported to live here. Lilith would find out detailed snippets that only a Child would willingly give out.

    When he joined me, he saluted lightly before taking an at ease stance to my left. He would technically be my Second now, and he appeared to be taking the unofficial duties to heart. ¡°Report.¡± I stated calmly, and he began reporting.

    ¡°Sir, the Village is indeed one of the largest on Eden, according to the people. It is roughly five miles in all directions, walled off with farmland that is patrolled by their militia almost constantly. Though none seem to venture far at night. It helps that their crops appear to be mostly hanging fruits or vegetables, from what I observed atop the single gate. Numbers appear to be inconclusive however. Some stated that they had around three thousand people, others five thousand. The sensus has not been taken properly for a number of years it seems. I would recommend taking it slowly. More to the fact we know not just where the Rebels are, nor how many they number.¡±

    I held my hand up, stopping the rest of his report, and asked a single question. ¡°Armory?¡±

    ¡°Sir, they have a medium sized Armory with few things in the way of weapons that could be considered a threat to us. Though I would not put stock in this armor truly stopping sustained fire from rifles, and the odd machine gun within their militias hands.¡±

    I nodded absently, flicking my eyes to the Mayor who was moving toward us. Gabrial saw him as well and cut off anything further that could be added later when we were able. ¡®Now what?¡¯ I wondered. Another complication? This would become far too bothersome soon, better to lay charges and blow them all up. But I wished to obtain all information to report to my General, it could lead to more Rebels in the future as well.

    ¡°Captain? If you are willing, I can have my boy here show you where you and your men can stay for the night. As thanks for aiding us with the repairs. Also, a look out said that Jerome''s boys are about to enter the main gate.¡±

    I looked at the middle aged man beside the Mayor, and nodded my head lightly before returning my attention to the old man, working hard to keep my mask of friendly acceptance up.

    ¡°I would greatly appreciate that, Mayor. I¡¯m glad to hear that my Support Personnel have arrived back in the Village safely.¡±

    I saw the old man narrow his eyes. Suspicion was heavy within those eyes. It was to be expected, considering no Planetside Colonist enjoyed the Empires Military might making stops within their homes.

    We followed the man, Gabrial and I, to a large building that appeared vacant of life. I looked at it a moment, and the man elaborated on the building some.

    ¡°Father wanted me to give you the run of this building. It is a Housing Unit that has been vacant for a while. The last Grugarnt migration cost us the family that lived here. Ah, Grugarnts are massive herbivores on this planet, but they have a nasty side and tend to trample anything in their path.¡±

    ¡°Thank you, Drare. Please inform the Mayor that this will work fine.¡± The Mayor''s son smiled like a moron, clearly not as untrusting as the Father, and left Gabrial and I alone.

    We went into the building, Gabrial leading the way in case it was a trap. What we found was a massive house with multiple bedrooms, easily enough for the Support Personnel and my Men. There was also a cooking area, it seemed. It would do, for the time being at least.

    I shut the door behind us, and closed the curtains. ¡°Sweep¡± I told him, and he went around the main entrance, and this living/sitting area of the house. He came back with no less than twenty bugs, simplistic and ancient, but they worked. We destroyed them all, standard protocol. It would be expected. I would leave the ones in the bedrooms as they were. No need to arouse more suspicion by a complete sweep.

    ¡°Sir, why are we not simply slaughtering them where they stand? There is the one exit only after all.¡± Gabrial stated this in clear frustration. He disliked the waiting, it was why he never was a candidate for Officer Stations, even though he excelled in other aspects that would serve him well.

    ¡°Because, there may be hidden exits. These people are suspicious of as already, and no doubt that Mayor has hidden scheme to survive in place. I have Lilith and Zepar working on that front. We will have Castielle and Mistama deal with planting charges at night. Test these Armors properly. Azza will remain with the ships. We cannot afford for one to be stolen. I sent word that she is to kill any Trespasser if deemed needed.¡±

    Gabrial Saluted me and took a seat, adopting a relaxed position. ¡°Captain, is this place really filled with Rebels to our Glorious Empire? I admit that the people are a bit untrusting, and seem distant but that does not¡­¡±

    I cut him off with a wave of my hand, my voice harsh. ¡° We were given orders by our General, Gabrial, it does not matter if there are Rebels or not. He wants this place burned to the ground, with every last living soul living here with it. I am giving us three days for the chance to find any Rebels, and learn of others on the Planet or in the Quadrant for our General. Understood?¡±

    Gabrial saluted from his seated position, my Brothers and Sisters had the right to remain relaxed if we were alone, but only to a degree. As such he did come to attention enough to bark out ¡°Sir, yes Sir.¡±

    It was enough for me. I nodded, and took my own seat. I checked the internal time system of our Armor by applying my helmet once more. Another two hours before the second sun would set. A small Dwarf star really. Eden had thirty Hour days, and we had been here for the second half of the day. Evening and night would soon arrive. It would allow Castielle and Mastema to do their jobs better.

    ¡°What of the Militia itself, Gabrial? Did you see anything of note?¡± I asked him once I had ensure my helmet was collapsed safely into the main body of my armor. It was still an odd sensation to have it move at my mental exertions.

    ¡°Aside from their Captain, an ex military Veteran, nothing.¡± I raised an eyebrow in question, requesting him to continue. ¡°He is a survivor of the Second Quadrants Galafor Massacre, apparently. He was with General Trident in his final stand against the last Rebel Army that managed to gain momentum fifty years ago. I could not get much more out of him, he did not seem to enjoy the fact we were Genetically altered Soldiers. I believe his mumbled words were ¡®unnatural¡¯ even though all Generals and their direct staff are altered to ensure longer life spans. We just had the benefit of having the process from birth to ensure our superiority.¡±

    One of his famous rants had just begun with that. He was an avid study of Military History, and worshiped the ground Generals walked on. Most of us did, though he reserved his Fervor for the long dead, and the Empress alone. Not even the High General had his fervor. He was an odd one, preferring the dead for their heroic deeds.

    I was saved from the ramble by the entrance of Castielle and Mastema. I sent a silent thanks to them for their timely arrival. However, the news was not the best I could have hoped for. It appeared that the Support personnel, who arrived a mere five minutes later, had lost no one. It meant more bodies, yes, but that did not mean I had not wished the troublemakers to be dealt with by the beast they went to slay.

    In the Supporting people walked. The smaller man that Lilith had knocked unconscious was glaring at us in general. That was to be expected, and I would have been more concerned if he were calm. Calm like Jerome appeared to be. He was minding his Military Protocol to the letter now. ¡®Yes, Sir¡¯ ¡®No, Sir¡¯. It seemed the large black man had a brain in there afterall. I¡¯d have Gabrial watch him for a time, just to be safe.

    I had them give me the run down of their mission to kill the beast. The little man opened his mouth, only to have Jerome smack him upside the head, and explain the details to me.

    ¡°We located the Juvenile Brujaw two clicks south of the Village, Sir. We were lucky, it had just fed and was digesting. This made it slow and allowed us to set it aflame. It was a standard OP. The time spent was due in locating the Beasts Den, well hidden in the vegetation.¡±

    It was a standard action. Simple and straightforward in appearance. At least they took assignments somewhat seriously. I didn¡¯t like the gleam that flashed in the big mans eye as he stated his Mission Log however. My instincts screamed he hid something, they screamed this entire Village hid something. It was making me somewhat nervous. Me, an Officer Graduate of the Academy was being made nervous by an unknown instinct within that told me of danger.

    The instructors brought to the Academy from the front lines of whatever Rebel Planet that rose up against our glorious Empire. They had spoken of such feelings, called them ¡®Gut Feelings¡¯ that had kept them alive.

    I believed it to be something far simpler, far more Primal in human Nature than their simplistic view. Something spanning back to long before we took to the stars, and our World of Origin became uninhabitable after so much abuse.

    It told me I cannot trust anything of this Village, it told me of danger lurking within the corner of my eye. The hidden places just outside of sight. I put only as much stock within it as was necessary. More than that led to believing you could always trust such feelings. My time in the Academy had shown me that it was not always correct, this could be such a time as well. I would sit back, observe my surroundings, and make my move when I felt it was time.

    It was one of the reasons for earning the Childs trust. She wished to become a Soldier of the Empire, so she would become one. Even an unknowing one.

    I dismissed Jerome and the other Support Soldiers for the time being. I would not trust them with Guarding the Shuttles for the time being, instead I would have my own men move out in a pair for the Relieving Soldier to take the first place during watch, and the pair return. It would be the best moment for the time being. It was also not lost upon me that they had situated our housing as far from our shuttles as possible. I may need to increase the number of people Guarding the Shuttles. I could afford to lose the Support Staff, and one shuttle to damage.

    I could not afford to lose one to Rebels though, nor could I afford to lose any of my Brothers or Sisters on my first mission for our General Azazel. It was bad enough that any Soldier I brought into my Squad to fill the last four spots would be Soldiers that had not survived the Crucible of the Academy. I was not so foolish as to believe that they, or I would not die in the future in service to our Empire, and General. But that did not mean I had a desire to fill my Squad with normal Soldiers undergoing Genetic Alterations as an adult that did not share our bonds, that were not forged in blood and steel.

    I refused the urge to grind my teeth at the thought. It was not my place to have such thoughts. I was a Soldier, nothing more. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and collected myself. Emotions were weakness, thoughts contradicting the orders, and wishes of my General and the Empire were blasphemy. He would purge such thoughts from his mind, and his body tonight.

    ¡­.

    Smack! Smack!

    I gritted my teeth with each resounding smack of the tough bits of leather I had obtained earlier. I was on the roof of the large building, a square topped domicile. It allowed me my solitude while I purged myself of the Blasphemy and Emotions.

    Smack! Smack!

    Once more I struck my bare back from right to left, the cool night breeze causing the fresh wounds to burn. I struck it again, the blood slickened leather striking harder each time. Emotions were weakness, thoughts beyond my station and objective were blasphemy.

    The single sentence a mantra I sang within my mind with each strike, refusing to acknowledge the pain with something so weak as a sound. I resolutely continued this for the next hour. The strikes, while painful, would leave no lasting damage either. My genetics prevented that, at least.

    Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

    When I finished, I rose from my kneeling position and allowed the bloodied leather strip to fall to the ground by my armor encase feet as I stared up at the night time satellite that orbited this Planet, or the moon if you wished to be romantic.

    Steam came off my bare upper body. My ear twitched when I heard the sound of a door being opened, and turned around to see Lilith had arrived on the roof with me, a towel in her hand. I reached my hand out silently and she placed it within my outstretched hand. Wiping the sweat away I regarded her with a raised eyebrow. She was here for a reason after all.

    The silence stretched as she looked at me and then out at the villages roof tops. I allowed her the silence as she collected her thoughts.

    ¡°Sir, something feels wrong. It feels as if we are within a trap and that we willingly allowed them to trap us without our knowledge. I do not like it.¡±

    I snorted and finished wiping the sweat and blood from my body as best as I could, ignoring the stinging pain as I roughly wiped excess blood from the self inflicted lashes on my back. I called the Armor that I had allowed to collapse within my waistband with my mind, and it covered my body. I left my head bare.

    ¡°I¡¯m aware. Have Castielle and Mastema gone to the Shuttles to guard them yet?¡± she nodded her head, and continued on from my question, stopping my second cold.

    ¡°Zepar, and Gabrial are moving through the town planting the mini explosives as well. They have just left, actually. I imagine things will be prepared before Dawn arrives. Azza is resting as well. I assumed it would be fine to allow her an hours sleep.¡±

    I threw the towel to the floor of the roof and went by Lilith, resting my left hand upon her shoulder. The clink of the armor resounding in the quiet night.

    ¡°When have you last purged, Lilith?¡±

    ¡°Before our graduation, Sir. I have not felt the need to do so since. I am assured of our path, and my own faith and believe with the Empire has never been stronger. Thanks to you, Sir. Why have you Purged?¡±

    ¡°Because I began to think beyond my station, beyond my right. I had also allowed emotions to wriggle their way within my mind and heart. Emotions beyond devotion to the Empire, and our Empress. They had to be purged from my Mind and Body.¡±

    She nodded silently, and I removed my hand and went inside, she followed me. ¡°The Support Personnel, and the Child?¡±

    ¡°The fools are asleep, last I checked, and plans are moving with the Child without a problem. The Mother proved...less than helpful though I found a way in. The Child wants nothing more than to become a Soldier of the Empire, even at the young age of five. Her Devotion rivals even ours, I believe.¡±

    I raised an eyebrow at that, no small compliment and claim coming from Lilith. She continued as we slowly made our way down the stairs.

    ¡°She stated her Mother had been acting oddly of late, the entire Village had, aside from the other Children. She was a font of unbridled and uninhibited information. A group of people had come to the Village, she said she saw them go into the Mayor''s house shortly before we arrived, as if warned, and have not seen them since. She said that they arrived  forty days ago and that was when the adults began acting oddly.¡± She paused, continuing after making sure no one was listening.

    ¡°I believe the Village has been swayed fully. We are in a nest of enemies, not unsuspecting sheep, Sir.¡±

    ¡°Will she have the other Children join in our game?¡± she nodded her head softly and I smiled. ¡°Then tomorrow, you and Azza will go and play with her. If she is truly so dedicated to the Empire, she will aid even without understanding why. Truly, she will die a Hero. Rest now, I¡¯m going to wake Azza, and then explain what she will do with you tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    ¡­¡­

    Castielle and Mastema had returned an hour before dawn, their mission a success. The charges had been set throughout the Village. Three at key structural points along the outside of the Armory during Patrol blind spots. Several outlying buildings that were deemed unneeded but held importance as structural support for some portions of the Wall.

    I had ordered them to sleep until Dawn arrived. Gabrial and Zepar had returned, relieved by Lilith and Azza. They reported nothing out of the ordinary, aside from odd activity in the house across from the Shuttles. People were moving around, but they did not wish to arouse suspicion by investigating.

    Good, they may believe we are indeed ¡®Greenies¡¯ with this, and underestimate just what we are capable of.

    ¡°Sir, why don¡¯t we put the Support Group to good use? They have not been helping much with our Operation beyond helping with a few small things after the Beast was slain.¡±

    I looked at Gabrial a moment, contemplating my answer. My men were like me, fanatical followers of the Empire, and our Empress. That did not mean that they had the same foresight as I however.

    ¡°Because, something is off about them. I am unsure if it is a test from our General, or something more sinister. I will not allow them to be privy to the more detailed plans we have until I am sure.¡±

    Gabrial nodded, and checked his Pistol after rising from where he had slept for the last short while. If he had been asleep at all. Gabrial was a quiet man, like myself. His Brother had been Alpha 1, my previous second during the Graduation Ceremony. He had taken the mantle from him.

    ¡°Gabrial, what is it you think of these Villagers?¡±

    ¡°They are hiding something, Sir. That I am certain of. Whether it is the Rebels, or some skimp on Taxes I do not know though. It hardly matters though, correct? We are burning the wretches to ash and cinder.¡±

    ¡°True enough, for the Empire.¡±

    ¡°For the Empire, Sir.¡±

    Time ticked by, I decided that I would be a part of the relieve for this Shuttle watch. I gave Gabrial the outline of the current objectives, and informed him he was in charge of continuing the plan without issue. Zepar and I left for the Shuttles.

    ¡°They look at us like we are Vermin, Sir. It makes me want to burn them to ash now.¡± Zepa, ever the angry one. It was a wonder her Temper had not caused issues before. But like all good Soldiers, she knew how to direct it.

    ¡°Yes, I see Zepar. Soon enough they will feel the righteous might of the Empire.¡±

    I kept my voice low, no need to allow another to hear us by mistake and cause my plans to go awry early. Motion, at the corner of my eye. I turned my head to see the tail end of someone''s leg running behind a building. I got that feelings once more in the pit of my stomach.

    I was beginning to feel that we were the hunted, instead of the Hunters now. I frowned, remembering what I had seen in that brief glimpse. Things were quickly beginning to grow complicated.

    ¡°Zepar, be prepared. We may be leaving sooner than three days.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir.¡± Her stoic reply. Lilith should have the Child and several other Children with her. I frowned, my plans were about to be rushed. I disliked this fact, though fact it was.

    I had my helmet reform, Zepar followed suit. Breaking radio silence I spoke to each member of my Squad on our private channel. ¡°Decode 12, Helmets up and prepare for conflict. Lilith, move ahead with operation ¡®Hide and Seek¡¯ as many as you can. Gabrial, Mastema double time to the shuttles. Out of sight.¡±

    I switched the frequency to the all channel shared by the Support Personnel and did much the same. But I changed it around, even if our private station had been compromised the message would differ only slightly in tone. ¡°Operation Cancel, move to the shuttles, the field is live.¡±

    Agreed upon standard code for the Mission had gone fubar and we were to group and make a stand. When I finished the message I pulled my AK-99 free from its slot at the small of my back and Zepar did the same. We ran to the Shuttles as quickly as we could.

    The glimpse of orange told me what I would find. Orange, the symbol of ¡®freedom¡¯ under the yolk of our mighty Empire, Orange, the Rebels were here.

    When we arrived at the shuttles, I saw what I had feared. Damnit! They were destroying my prompt timeline. Before us was a mass of Villagers, a few hundred. Orange could be seen within the mass as well, inciting them, urging them on.

    ¡°Fuck you Emperial Dogs! Have you not taken enough? LEave our Home! Leave our Planet! We no longer serve your damned Empress!¡±

    The chant of the mob, I ground my teeth. Luckily the Shuttles were sealed up tight. Lilith would have left as soon as possible to get the Child, leaving Azza alone within the shuttle. They could not be breached from the outside easily. The Village had the means to destroy them, but from how they were acting they wanted it in tact.

    It proved they wanted out Shuttles, no doubt to try and return to the General''s Flag ship and cause destruction where they could. I stopped behind the mob. That was a lot of people, far too many for Zepar and I alone to deal with easily.

    ¡°Gabrial, move to the gate ensure no one leaves. Prep the starter. We watch them burn today.¡± I said through our Private channel.

    A soft click could be heard through my helmet as he responded, followed by another. ¡°Sir, I have the Child and several others. forty was all I could manage. Where do you want us?¡±

    ¡°March them to the gate with Gabrial and Mastema. I¡¯ll lead them to us.¡±

    I lifted my gun, and took aim down the sight. My mind going to the calm place, the dark abyss within that would allow me to make the split second decisions needed to move and stay alive. I heard Zepar through the mic, asking to fire. I gave permission, and we opened fire.

    Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

    The sudden burst of gunfire created a small dome of silence as the Mob was shocked by the noise, then the screaming came. The several we had just shot in the back falling forward into the mob, dead.

    We continued shooting, then the Mob turned as one. The hatred, fear, and loathing was enough to make me hate them all the more. Rebel scum. ¡°Make for the gate, Zepar. Azza, mount the left wing gun. Open fire.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    I moved, Zepar moved, and we ran while being chased by the Mob of Villagers, gunshots ringing out behind us, I felt several ding off the Armor given to us. Good, it held up under fire. Then the whirl of the mini gun on the Shuttle began to be heard, followed by the hum of bullets that cut their way through flesh and bone, and building.

    More people died, building collapsed upon themselves, followed by the screams of those within. Still, the Mob seemed to be growing larger. The bodies behind us still fell however, cut in half at the extent of the Mini Guns range.

    Run, keep running. Regardless of Armor and Training if we are caught we will be torn to pieces. ¡°Double time it Soldier!¡± I screamed through the mic.

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    I moved my left hand from the front of my AK-99 and grabbed where the black Grenades were, time to test them. I snagged one and clicked the button, letting it drop just behind me.

    1, 2, 3...BOOM!

    A loud explosion was heard just behind me, followed by the screams. I also heard, something strike my Armor, only to pierce my right Shoulders flesh. I grunted as the Impact through me forward a step, threatening to send me to the ground. I forced myself to regain my balance, though I had slowed. Shrapnel, the Black ones were Shrapnel Grenades.

    We turned a corner, and I heard the words ¡°Hit the Deck!¡± through the mic. Zepar seemed to not hear, I looked and saw sparks on the comm system. She had taken a hit. I picked up my speed and tackled her to the ground just as the first bullets went flying over our head.

    Gabrial, Mastema, and Lilith were there shooting a steady stream of bullets from their AK-99¡¯s. ¡°Crawl!!¡± I screamed at Zepar, ignoring the mic for her. We crawled forward under the stream of bullets, and the screams of the dying and the screams of the forty plus children that were on their knees with their hands bound behind them. Our ¡®Game¡¯ had played out.

    The only Child not bound was Melody, the girl was terrified, but she was making sure none of the others escaped. A soldier of the Empire indeed. It was truly a pity what her fate was.

    When the bullets stopped because they were reloading, I got to my feet and turned, calling out in a loud commanding voice. ¡°Stop! If you want your children to live, STOP!¡±

    I grabbed my AK-99 and shot at the first ten that kept running, killing them where they stood. Two wore the Orange of Rebellion. But the Mob itself, seemingly grown to massive portions, had stopped. A single, loud, female voice rushing out over the entire Mobs Screams of ¡®Damn Empire¡¯ and other such slanderous Blasphemy.

    ¡°MELODY!!!!..¡±

 Chapter Five: Edens Fire 3 - The Bomb.

    ¡°MELODY!¡± the girls mother cried out in fear and desperation. Good, that was what I needed. That one voice would keep the Mob at bay for a short time. It is what I needed most.

    ¡°Let her go you Emperial Dog!¡± she screamed at me. I gritted my teeth and ignored the obvious slurs meant to cause someone utterly loyal to the Empire to lash out alone.

    ¡°You will get her back once all the Rebel Elements within your Village have been annihilated. Hand over everyone that is a Rebel, and I will allow you to join your children. ¡° I could feel the stirrings of a few in the back, the whispered mutterings. Perhaps it would go well, I could obtain the Rebels, and then destroy the Villagers.

    Just as the first mutterings of handing over the people not of their Village, that had led so many of them to die started. That was when the Orange Rebels began to feel the tide turning, and spoke out in a loud voice, a voice I knew.

    ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him! He will not kill your Children, he wants to use them against you!¡± Jerome...How in the name of the Empress had he been able to infiltrate the Empire''s armed forces? That explained a lot however, and looking toward the voice I saw the rest of his men.

    I felt the fire of retribution burning bright within me, traitors, deserters, infiltrators. ¡°Jerome! You are a traitor to the Empire, to our Empress, and to General Azazel. You will be killed, it is up to you if it is quick and painless, or filled with agony.¡±

    I saw him freeze, and then the little one whispered something. The Mob was still held back for fear that they would lose their children. I watched as the big black man raised his head, a sneer upon his lips. Then he shouted things that should never be said in front loyal, and fanatical Soldiers of the Empire.

    ¡°You know what I have to say about that? Fuck your Empire, Fuck your General, and if I ever meet your Empress, I¡¯ll bend her over and fuck her up her lily white ass!¡±

    Something deep within me snapped. Anything that may have saved them just went out the window. They could have been brought before General Azazel for judgement, perhaps even granted life in return for information.

    ¡°Lilith, bring an infant. I hear it bawling, and Melody, come up by me please.¡±

    I waited, the soft shuffling of small feet coming closer. I looked down to see the child, Melody, and placed a single hand on her head. I spoke softly to her, encouraging her bravery. ¡°You would have made a fine Soldier of the Empire, and served our Empress well. It is truly a shame what your Mother, and the other Adults have caused to occur. For that, I am sorry.¡±

    She nodded her head softly, tears running down her face. She was so very afraid, yet she did what was to be expected of a loyal Citizen of the Empire, even for one so young, she was a Hero. I would ensure her name was remembered as such as well.

    ¡°Sir, the infant.¡± I turned toward Lilith and grabbed the Infant, its hoarse cries growing heavier at the touch of the cold metal of my Armor. I raised my voice to be heard, unholstering my Pistol and pressing it to the side of Melody¡¯s head, saying to be brave before speaking to the crowd.

    ¡°You! The Mother of this Child, Melody, you get to choose. That Rebel Scum has ensured this happens, so blame him. Choose, your Daughter, or this Infant. Which dies and which lives?¡±

    I heard Melody¡¯s Mother start screaming. ¡°Baby! Melody, baby, run to Mommy. Come here Baby, he won¡¯t shoot you. Just...Just run to Mommy.¡± She was choking up, crying louder, heard above the screaming. A mother in pure desperation.

    I pressed the gun a bit more firmly against her skull, whispering she was a Hero and would be remembered, then raised my Voice, all but screaming the ultimatum. ¡°CHOOSE!! Your Daughter, or the Infant. Which dies?!¡±

    Jerome screamed out above the crowd, almost instantly after mine. ¡°He is lying!¡± followed by her broken sobs of ¡°My Daughter, I choose for her...to live.¡±

    I took the Pistol from Melody¡¯s head and pressed it against the Infant''s skull, just above where my arm held its head straight. I stared directly at Jerome, speaking loudly, forcing the Mob to see just what I was going to do, and ensuring they knew the cause.

    ¡°This is on you, Jerome, for forcing me to show them the Empire does not make empty threats.¡± I pulled the trigger, the bang and resulting echo of the gunshot was followed by the most profound silence. The blood of the Infant and the brain matter running down my armored forearm.

    ¡°Y-you...How could you! See that, see what Monsters the Empire are!¡± The big black man screamed, his voice growing high pitched in fear. The people didn¡¯t hear him, they were still in shock. I allowed the limp infant to fall to the ground, the thud of its little body seeming to echo out, and the sound magnified. A single instant, that one defining moment where I could see them warring with whether to charge out and risk the lives of the other Children, or turn over all of the Rebels.

    I switched our comms to the private channel. ¡°Azza, are the Shuttles surrounded, or in danger?¡±

    ¡°Sir, no Sir.¡±

    ¡°Gabrial, is the Primer ready?¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir. Whenever you are ready.¡±

    ¡°Wait until we are in the air. The results will be large.¡±

    I kept my mic on the private channel, but keyed it off for the time being. Instead I watched the Mob. Their eyes slowly turned to hatred, I raised a hand and I heard the movements of my Men behind me as they raised their weapons. I knew they were aimed at the Children.

    ¡°Give us all the Rebels within this town, and they live. Fail to do so, and every one of you will die, and while you may overrun us, that will not save your Children. Make your Choice. Strangers that ensured this fate upon you, or your Children.¡±

    It was an obvious choice, and they took it. Fools that they were, they took it. I had Orders, and it amazed me that Jerome did not know. All Military personnel on this OP were meant to know the true goal...Unless General Azazel knew that they were Traitors? It was possible. He had a large information network, and countless Spies seeded throughout his Quadrant. No doubt he sent them to be a further test. I doubted he meant for them to blow their cover to spectacularly, no doubt because my Men and I refused to trust them, or our constant arguments.

    They had likely had enough, and chosen to act before they believed my back up plans were in motion. I watched as the Mob turned upon itself, shoving and pushing each Orange clothed Rebel into the Open, chief among them the five Support Squad Members that were, in truth, Rebels.

    Them I would give a very different death, chief among them for such a reward was Jerome. Several Rebels struggled as they were being forced out of the Mob, screaming and crying that this was not right, that this Village was going to die because they could not sacrifice a few Children. How right that one was.

    ¡°Shoot the ones fighting the Most, Castielle.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    A single shot rang out every few moments as more and more Rebels were being led out. The shots ended in a Rebels skull exploding outward once the Bullet penetrating them. They quickly stopped fighting the inevitable, for what reason I did not know.

    Between us and the Mob, knelt the Rebels. Fully three hundred, at least. They had been bound by the Mob, and could not move. The few that had tried to get to their feet and run were quickly shot and killed. Their fates were sealed, and they knew it. It did not stop them from screaming that the Villagers were wrong, that now they would all die.

    I personally silenced those, no need to make them start thinking, remembering what happens to some Villages, or settlements within the Empire that had Rebels within. No need to Remind them of Gala Prime, and the Planet searing all for a single Rebel enclave.

    ¡°Gabrial, Castielle, Lilith. Kill them all, leave the five Traitors alive. Make sure they see and hear what is happening to their fellow Rebels.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    As one they moved up beside me, taking a full step forward as they brought up their AK-99¡¯s in fully automatic mode, and opened fire upon the kneeling, and defenceless Rebels. Their screams and the sound of rhythmic gun fire in controlled bursts was like icing on the cake, an old saying, but accurate.

    It took a full ten minutes to kill them all, aside from the special five. The Children behind us had long since gone silent, too afraid to utter a sound after seeing what happened to the Infant. I moved forward, Lilith, Gabrial, and Castiell¡¯s guns trained on the last five survivors. The Traitors, the Test, for that is what they had to be.

    They were the wrench thrown into my plan, the thing designed to make sure my first OP, supposedly simple and easy, did not go as planned. To make me think, to change, to grow as new situations were thrown at me. The Academy had prepared us for countless scenarios. Including the fact our Generals may very well test our abilities to see if we had been worth the price of acquisition.

    I moved forward, Jerome and the little man cursing me, throwing slurs left and right. I believe the smaller one just insulted the Empress, once earned Jerome my special execution, with the little man I just drew my pistol, aimed and fired without looking. It cut his words off half way, and he fell forward into the red/brown mud created from all the blood and bodies.

    ¡°You sonofabitch! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Another man within the squad lunged forward, I put a bullet into his thigh. It made him cry out in utter agony, and fall face forward while trying to grab it, yet unable to do so because of the restraints. ¡°Fucker, fucker, fucker¡± His inane pain filled words were beginning to annoy me. I put one in his head, silencing him for eternity.

    Two done, three to go. I reached them a moment later, and grasped the back of Jeromes neck, forcing it to turn and watch as I shot the man beside him in the shoulder. His screams of pain, followed by the word ¡®Monster¡¯ were very satisfying after what the big black man had said about our Empress. I shot the man again in his other shoulder, followed by one in the collar bone, just shy of a major artery. Then we spent the next five minutes watching the man bleed out, his breathing and hoarse grunts of pain slowly dying down to nothing. I ended it a moment before death with a single bullet to his curly brown haired head.

    Then I forced Jerome to turn and watch the last one, the only female within his group. Attractive for a normal human woman. ¡°Crawl away.¡± I said, my voice utterly devoid of emotion. I felt Jerome tense, and squeezed very hard on his neck, jerking his head to the side. Where the head goes, the body will follow, it stopped him from making a move.

    I looked at the woman again. ¡°Crawl. Away.¡± I made sure my words were clearly heard.

    ¡°Please, Captain, Sir, God, whatever you wanna be called, don¡¯t do dis. She had nothing, she was follow¡­¡± I smacked him upside the head with the butt of my pistol, dazing him a bit.

    ¡°You no longer have the right to address me, Rebel. She will crawl, and you will watch. If you shut your eyes like you did for the man, I will make it last longer. Do. You. Understand?¡±

    He nodded, tears forming on his eyes, perfect. I turned to see the woman, her eyes so filled with defeat and hopelessness slowly start to crawl, moving just her knees seeing as her hands were tied behind her back.

    I waited until she was fully turned from me, and then I put a bullet in the back of her left thigh, just below her butt. She fell forward, and Jerome closed his eyes. ¡°Crawl¡± I told her, and put another bullet just below the same in the span of a moment. Her screams went out as she fell forward.

    I turned to look at Jerome a moment. ¡°Open your eyes and watch her die, or I will make it last the rest of the day.¡±

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    He slowly, oh so slowly opened his eyes. Large tears streaming down his face as he muttered he was sorry. Over and over he repeated he was sorry, whether to me or the woman who was crying while face first in the blood mud I did not know.

    ¡°Crawl¡± I repeated, when she did not move I shot her in the foot. ¡°Crawl!¡± She slowly rose and began to crawl in a dragging limp like motion. I knelt down, bending my knees to sit on my armored calves.

    I shot her in her right shoulder blade, pitching her forward again. Following the scream I whispered into Jerome''s ear. ¡°You were sent here, by the general. You were the wrench to make me think, to ruin my plans. This is the only plausible reasoning, because you did not know our true objective. We are purging this Village, every last one of these people will die. You just ensured it happened far sooner.¡± Raising my voice I yelled for her to crawl, her sobs audible. A shot rang out from behind me, and I turned to see Lilith had fired her weapon. I looked down the flight of the bullet to see dust rising from the dirt at the feet of the Mob. They must have made a move.

    ¡°Shot anyone that goes past that bullet.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir!¡±

    Following that, I shot the female once more, in her right thigh. Jerome was crying, but silent as he regarded me in open horror. ¡°You could have spared her this, you Traitor. You could have ensured you and your men went back to General Azazel, or been given painless deaths. But no, you had to insult our Empress, you will be bathed in blood and steel as your penance.¡±

    He looked at me then, really looked at me, or rather my Armor covered face. ¡°Y-You¡¯re a Monster, how could you willingly do this, to us, to those Children, to these people?¡± His voice was but a whisper at this point, his throat seemed constricted by emotion, grieve no doubt.

    ¡°Because it is our orders, because it is for our Empire, and Empress.¡± I stated with all the believe and conviction I had within me.

    ¡°How can you be so obsessed with this shit hole of an Empire?¡± I looked at him, and turned to see she had not begun crawling again. I aimed, and shot her heel, just at the edge of the bone. It caused a massive chunk to fly off, and she screamed and screamed from the pain. ¡°Crawl!¡± I shouted over her yelling, and then looked toward Jerome.

    ¡°Because the Empire, and the Empress are all the hope Humanity has left. Because they are right, and your Rebel Scum do not have enough mental capacity to see it. Do you want her pain to end?¡± He responded with a nod of his head.

    I aimed and shot her in her right thigh while she just got up. ¡°I asked you a question Rebel. Do. You. Want. Her. Pain. To. End?¡±

    ¡°Yes you fucker, YES!¡±

    ¡°Then say that her Majesty, in all her righteous Glory is above contempt, and judgement. That you are sorry you even mention the idea of her nude and laying with a worm such as you.¡±

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± He said, the last of his bluster showing through. I sighed, aimed and shot the woman in her other foot this time. She had stopped moving, but she still screamed. A high piteous scream of agony.

    ¡°Fine Fine! Her Majesty, in all her Righteous Glory is above contempt, and Judgement. I am...sorry, that I ever mention her nudity, or the chance of her laying with someone as worthless as myself.¡±

    I released my grip on his neck a moment, and patted his head. ¡°Watch, as I end her pain.¡± I got up, and walked toward the woman that was about twenty feet from us where she lay, her screaming dying down at last. I used my foot to kick her over onto her back.

    This set off another round of screams, I had enough of that however. I kicked her, hard, in the side and her screams turned into a fit of coughing, and moaning. The pain had stunned her a moment.

    She looked up at me, when she stopped coughing, her clouded blue eyes filled with such despair, and hatred. I pointed my gun right between those blue, blue eyes, and pulled the tricky. Her body did a single jerking motion, nerves twitching after death due to a delayed reaction. Then I walked back over to the crying Black Man who was just staring at her body as if he had lost a limb.

    ¡°You bastard, you bastard, I...loved...Her¡± He continued muttering this sentence over and over for a few minutes, then he suddenly looked at me. If looks could indeed kill, I would be dead.

    ¡°I won¡¯t give you the satisfaction!¡± He hissed between clenched teeth, and before I could fully register what he meant, he had put his tongue between his very white teeth and in the matter of seconds had bitten his own tongue off.

    I felt my eye twitch in irritation. This meant if I were to dispense Military Justice, I had to make it quick, before he bled out. This would be another frustration. I ended his pain a moment later, a single bullet through his skull.

    Once his corpse fell to the ground, I regarded it a moment before kicked him as hard as I could in the side, it sent his body bouncing a foot away from the force. The Rebel had denied me the right of torture for his Sacrilege.

    I stared at his bleeding corpse a moment longer, then turned toward the gathered Mob, holstering my weapon as I did so. ¡°You will all be escorted to the Armory and locked within while we take our leave of this Village. Your Children will be sent in after you are all within. If any of you touch the weapons, or attempt to attack us, we will butcher them. Am I understood?¡±

    I heard the crying moans of several men and women as they saw their own children forced onto their knees, and terrified as they agreed.

    We marched them then, to the Armory, filled with pathetic weapons, but a great deal of Ammunition, enough to turn this Village into a crater when the Bombs went off.

    We arrived half an hour later, marching the Mob first, and herding frightened and disoriented children took more time than I expected. The fact that some Parents had tried to rush us to get their offspring had not ended well, their were fresh bodies lying in the Chaos of the path we had originally taken now. The Fools.

    When we did finally arrive, the Entire Mob crammed themselves into the confines of the large structure that was the Armory. Then I did as I promised, keeping my word and sent in the Children, one by one. They were met with crying faces, and ¡®strong¡¯ arms to hold them and promise them lies that everything would be alright. When all but one of the Children had been sent in, I turned to look at Melody, ignoring her Mother''s cries for her to go to her. Such a brave, brave Child. Willing to do so much for the Empire and our Empress, even while so very young. She would have been a glorious addition to the Empire as a Soldier, and when she died it would be a little less for a time.

    Her memory would live on though. I took a knee in front of her, collapsing my Helmet into my Armor and looked at her, truly looked at this Child who had ensured their bargaining chip, sold her fellow Children to the Soldiers to be used as pawns in a game. Who stood bravely still, knowing I would have killed her earlier.

    ¡°You, Melody, are a Hero of the Empire. I will ensure that you are remembered in the Annals of this Squads Heros, for had this not occurred, I believe you would have made your way toward us, The Death Dealers, and become a great asset.¡±

    I cupped her tear streaked face, she was still a Child, and still very afraid no doubt. I smiled at her, a real smile filled with warmth. The smile I obtained when thinking of our Empire. ¡°I have one last objective for you, brave little Soldier.¡±

    ¡°Wh- *sniffle* What is it?¡± Her voice, so sweet and soft asked.

    ¡°Take this little black ball into that Armory with you, and when we leave, push the button. It is a Grenade, Melody, and it will kill you and everyone in their as well as act as the Trigger for the Bombs we have placed. Can you do that Melody? Can you do that for the Empire?¡±

    She sniffled, fear showing in her eyes. She did not want to die, and I was not kind in asking this of her. But I did it anyway. I saw her straighten her small little body and nod her head taking the little black ball into her hand, the view of her blocked by how I was kneeling before her.

    ¡°You are a Hero, Melody, and a braver Soldier than any of us. We will Honor you.¡±

    My Men echoed my statement. ¡°We will Honor you.¡± Then i had her run as though afraid, not a hard feat, and fly into her Mother''s arms. The Grenade safely away in a pocket on her dirty overalls.

    ¡°You may come out once we have lifted of!¡± I yelled at them, with the results being several screamed barbs and insults.

    We moved to the Shuttle, not far away. I had Gabrial keep his weapons trained on the Armory and pounded on the door, speaking into the Private Channel after adorning my helmet once more. ¡°Open the Shuttle Door. We are leaving.¡±

    It opened slowly, to reveal Azza standing there with her gun drawn and aimed at us all before she lowered it. She was making sure. We entered the Shuttle and I went to the Cockpit to see the Pilot sitting there checking his systems.

    ¡°Take off, the place will blow after we leave.¡±

    He nodded and after finishing the systems check closed the hatch, speaking into his Mic. ¡°Victor 2, Victor 1, prep for takeoff finished. Birds to leave the nest, the Coo Coo is present, I repeat, the Coo Coo is present.  (A.N he is referring to the Coo Coo bird that lays its egg in another bird''s nest and once it hatches forces the other chicks out to their deaths.)

    We took off a moment later, and when we were at the right Altitude we heard it. The shock wave of the explosion rattled the Shuttle as it rushed higher and further away to leave the orbit of the Planet while trying to outrun the blast. Melody had ensured the completion of our Objective, and had died a Hero of the Empire. I would personally place her name in the Logs of the fallen for my Squad, for she had died a ¡®Death Dealer¡¯.

    I went to the cockpit, and banged on the side of it to get the Pilot''s attention. He looked toward me with a questioning look. ¡°Take us home, mission complete.¡±

    ¡°Sir, yes Sir. Might I add, Sir, job well done.¡±

    I didn¡¯t respond to him, I had already turned to take a seat next to Lilith. Her Helmet was off, and she appeared conflicted. ¡°What is the matter, Soldier?¡±

    ¡°Those Traitors did not suffer enough, yet I would sacrifice thousands of their quality for but one more like the Child, like Melody. I wish we could have allowed her to live¡­¡±

    I nodded my head, placing my hand on her armored shoulder a moment before taking it away. ¡°I do as well, Lilith. But she died a Hero, a member of our Squad, though she was not one of us. I will be personally placing her name in the list of the Fallen, the first to die for the Empire within our Squad. I expect you to Purge when we return, as will I, as will we all. We cannot allow ourselves to feel.¡±

    I looked at everyone, and they all nodded. The Child could not be allowed to place a root of pity, or remorse within us, and they knew it. We would Purge, and we would slaughter countless more for our General, our Empire, and above all our Empress...

    <hr />

    Here you are my Lovely Readers. The end of their first Operation, and the Promise of so much more truly horrific things to come, horrific things that they themselves do.

    Anyway, wished to state that this is the last chapter for a while. I am turning my entire focus back to DG and the promised Chapters and Christmas Special Chapter for December 24th. I will still write this story in my downtime, but shall not post it until after then.