by Lucas Marcum
Her jaw dropping, Acevedo stood for a moment in shock, then stammered, “What…Why? We’re enemies. You invaded our world!”
“Under the magic and the lash of the elves. We were once a free people, like you. We once fought the elves as you do.” The orc’s voice was flat and matter of fact. “But we fell, and now we are chattel. We build their roads, dams, and palaces. We labor in their mines and fields. We fight their wars and make them rich.” His voice grew low and angry. “They tear children from their mothers and mates from one another’s arms. They make us fight each other in the arenas for their amusement.” The orc leaned over and picked up his helmet. “We did not win the first time. Perhaps it was because we were at odds with the humans and the dwarves, then. Divided. Weak. Easy prey.” Seeing the uncertainty on Acevedo’s face, he tilted his head and asked, “Do you know nothing of the Great War? The Subjugation of the Uruk-ki? The Burning of the Dwarves?”
“No,” Acevedo replied. “We didn’t even know any of you were real until a week ago. You were just characters in books and movies, legends and myths.”
“I have much to teach you, Sergeant Olivia Acevedo, United States Army. You and your war party.” He picked up the huge crossbow and rested it on his shoulder. “I will teach you of my people, and of magic, and of the elves.” He paused, then added, “And you…you will teach us how to kill elves like the human warriors in the days of old.”
With a slow nod, Acevedo replied, “I don’t know about all that, but if you’re willing to help us kill elves, I’m all in.”
“Good. Then it is settled. We will join your war party.” The orc looked at the sky. “We must be moving. The dragons will come at dawn.”
He turned to the bullet-riddled truck and growled, “Legionary Furo. We join their warband. Bring their healer.”
Acevedo tilted her head in confusion for a moment, then started in surprise as another black-armored orc stepped from behind the truck. This one was slightly smaller, but similarly armed and armored as the one who stood in front of Acevedo. One of his forearms was bare, and a brilliant white field dressing stood out in the moonlight. Another dressing was wound around his head, covering one of his eyes.
He eyed the petite sergeant for a moment, then said, “Durok, it seems we were misled as to the docility of the human females.” His face split in a grotesque smile. “They are not docile at all.” The orc turned to the truck and said, “You can come out now.” He looked back at Acevedo and added, “Call to your healer. She is skillful, but mistrusting.”
Raising her voice, Acevedo called, “Colonel Suarez?”
The doctor replied from behind the truck, “I’m here. Are we done?” Her voice was firm, but the tension was clear.
“Yeah. Come on out,” Acevedo replied. The physician stepped around the end of the ruined vehicle. Her hands were bloodstained, and her hair had fallen out of its neat bun. She was missing her helmet and rifle, and her aid bag was clutched tightly under an arm. She looked uncertainly at the orcs, then at Acevedo. The NCO slipped the translator ring off her finger and said quickly, “Directly behind me, in the tree line. Cut right to clear the lines of fire. Go.”
The surgeon nodded, took a few steps, then paused. “Specialist Beck is dead. I think she got one of them, though.”
Pressing her lips together tightly for a moment, Acevedo replied, “Yeah. Time for that later. Get moving.” She slipped the ring back on and asked the big orc, “What’s your name?”
The big orc paused in the process of stripping quivers of the thick black crossbow bolts from the fallen orcs and replied, “I am Durok ur Okran.” He pointed at the smaller orc. “That is Faro ur Dugrun.” He eyed the other orc for a moment, then his eyes narrowed. He snapped, “Remove your house sigils, filth. You are a soldier of House T’Mar no longer.”
The other orc chuckled in a deep voice and removed his rondel without a word. He picked up a crossbow that lay nearby and accepted a refilled quiver of bolts. He shouldered the massive crossbow with a thump, then took his place beside Durok.
The big orc turned back to Acevedo and regarded her for a moment, then said, “Your healer bound the wounds of my warrior. Why?”
“Because she’s a better person than me. I’d have shot you,” Acevedo snapped defiantly.
With a terrifying grin splitting his scarred face, Durok laughed and replied, “The elves do not provide for our care. When we are wounded in combat, if we are unable to be returned to the fight with simple spells, we are disposed of.”
The smaller orc added, “We are tools of the empire, we are told. Stripped of our names, torn from our clans, we exist only to make war on the enemies of the emperor.” He tapped his temple with an armored finger. “But we have long memories. We sing the songs in the barracks and slave camps and the mines of a time when we were free. When we were a proud warrior race. When we tested our steel against the humans in a titanic clash of will. The battles our peoples fought are legend.”
He raised the finger to the night sky. “We will be free again, Little Warrior, in this life or the next. It is the will of Ma’Krosh that we endure this test of spirit. A thousand years of bondage to test our faith.” Faro closed his hand and put a fist over his heart. “We entered bondage as iron. Hard, but brittle. We leave the pain and heat of this world as steel leaves the forge, ready to join Ma’Krosh in battle for our glorious and bloody vengeance.” His remaining eye seemed to bore through Acevedo’s soul, and she shivered slightly at his intensity.
Durok interrupted in his gravelly voice, “Perhaps you will wait for the afterlife, Faro. I plan to begin the slaughter much sooner.” He looked from the younger orc to Acevedo. “Sergeant Olivia Acevedo, we must move. The elves will come looking for their little lordling, and I wish to be ready. Lead us.”
“Indeed,” Faro added. “Lead us.”
-6-
“Run through the Jungle”
The Allegheny Foothills
Pennsylvania
From the shadows, O’Malley watched Acevedo speaking with the two massive orcs. Next to him, he could hear Ewart muttering, “What the fuck are they doing? What’s taking her so long?”
Shaking his head, O’Malley replied, “I have no idea, but she’s clearly negotiating.”
There was a low bird call from the woods behind them. Henderson scanned the brush, then whistled back, imitating the call. One of the heavily camouflaged paratroopers slipped out of the bush and flopped down behind the fallen tree.
Henderson whispered, “If that was a bird call, it was the shittiest one ever.”
The paratrooper looked over and replied, “Fuck you. I grew up in Chicago. I don’t know what the fuck a bird sounds like. It was the best way I could think of not to get shot.” He rolled over and spoke to O’Malley. “Sir, we got a team leading the orcs away. Get your people and…” He froze, seeing the two orcs talking to Acevedo. “What the fuck…” His voice trailed off as Acevedo turned and walked back to the tree line, then crouched next to O’Malley. The orcs waited patiently in the open. The big orc had one hand casually on his sword hilt, which was back in his scabbard. In his other hand, he held one of the massive crossbows pointed at the ground. The other orc had his crossbow on his shoulder. Both appeared completely calm, despite standing next to a pile of the bodies of their brethren.
Acevedo unclipped her helmet and took it off. She wiped her forehead, then looked at O’Malley. “Sir, you’re not going to believe this. Those guys want to join us.” She jerked a thumb at the orcs. “They say they don’t like the elves, and if they get a chance to help us beat them, they’re down for it.”
Dumbfounded, O’Malley stared at her for a moment, then replied in shock, “Can we trust them?”
Acevedo shrugged. “I think so.” She glanced at the two orcs waiting patiently and added, “They seem to see humans as some sort of mythical warrior race. They want to join our clan. That’s important to them.”
“Fuck.” O’Malley stared at the orcs for another few second
s, then said absently, “They don’t cover this in the captain’s career course.”
Laughing despite herself, Acevedo replied, “No, they don’t!” She put her helmet back on and stated, “Sir, it’s my recommendation that we take these two with us. They know a lot about the magical shit we’re facing, and they want to kill elves.”
“Yeah,” O’Malley replied, his eyes still on the orcs. The bound and gagged elf at his feet had twisted to look at the orcs, peering under the tree. She made noise and kicked her bound feet against the ground to get their attention.
Irritated, Acevedo ripped the duct tape off the elf’s mouth. “What?”
“You must not trust the Yrch. They are treacherous and will turn on you like a mad dog the moment you turn your back. They are scarcely more than animals,” the elf said. “They are dangerous. You should kill them where they stand.”
O’Malley looked at the elf, then at Acevedo. “What’s she saying?”
Acevedo put the tape back over the elf’s mouth, despite the elf’s protest, and replied, “She says they’re animals and we should kill them.”
“Well,” O’Malley replied, “that seals it. If she’s for killing them, they must be a threat to her, or a help to us. Either way, we should do the opposite.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Acevedo replied. She looked down at the elf, “Thanks, fuckhead.” The elven woman’s eyes spat fire impotently over her gag at Acevedo.
Whispering loudly, O’Malley called out, “Ewart! Pack up the .50. Get Henderson and Williams ready to move. Sergeant Acevedo, get your friends.” Acevedo nodded, fastened the chinstrap of her helmet, and picked up her rifle. O’Malley pointed at the paratrooper. “You. Where’s the rally point?”
The paratrooper gestured at the forest behind them. “Fire road about 500 meters due west. We have two Humvees and a five-ton waiting. Sergeant Jones will have our new fallback position by the time we get back.”
“Good,” O’Malley replied. “We’re not going to last long out here.” From the distance, they heard a drawn out, bone-chilling howl that froze everyone in place for a moment, looking at the dark hills around them. After a moment, O’Malley whispered harshly, “Let’s move, people.” The soldiers nodded and hurried to their tasks.
Acevedo walked back out to the two orcs and said, “Ok. The captain said you can come with us.” She started up at the two orcs faces. “No bullshit, or we’re gonna see how bulletproof those cast-iron underpants of yours are.”
Durok nodded gravely. “On our honor.” He pointed at the subdued flag patch on her shoulder. “May we have those sigils? It is customary to adopt the sigil of our new house.”
Startled, Acevedo looked at her shoulder for a moment before replying, “I can’t give you this one. It’s part of my uniform, and we can’t fight out of uniform unless something changes.” She reached into her shoulder pocket and handed two full color American flag uniform patches to the orcs. “You can use these until I get you a muted one. I keep them for when my soldiers lose theirs.”
The orc took them and regarded them solemnly for a moment, then carefully tucked it away in a small belt pouch. “I will never lose the sign of our house, Sergeant Olivia Acevedo.” He handed the other to Furo, who did the same, then asked, “What are our words?”
“What?” Acevedo looked at the big orc, confused.
“Our words. For Clan America.” The orc replied. “What words do we live by?”
“Uh…” Acevedo hesitated, then scratched her head. “Like a motto?”
The orc shook his head. “What words guide our clan?”
“Oh. I guess… ‘E pluribus unum’. That’s our national motto.”
“E pluribus unum.” The orc repeated the words slowly. “What does this mean?”
“It means ‘Out of many, one’,” Acevedo replied. “It’s Latin, I think.”
“From many, one,” Durok said bemusedly. “I think this. Together, we will destroy the elves. As one.” He smiled, his fangs shining in the moonlight. “I like these words.”
Furo rumbled, “This is one of the ancient tongues, Little Warrior. It is not for us Uruk-ki to know. How do you know this?”
“I don’t, really.” With a nervous glance at the tree line, where the rest of the soldiers were preparing to move, she added, “Listen, can we have a civics lesson later? We have to move.”
“Very well.” The orcs shouldered their crossbows. Durok said firmly, “Lead us.”
The three froze at the sound of another howl echoing from the distant woods, then Furo stated flatly, “Outriders. Make haste.” The two orcs and the diminutive human sergeant turned and ran to catch up with the rest of the group, leaving the truck alone with only corpses for company.
-7-
“Foundry”
The Allegheny Foothills
Pennsylvania
“Next side road you find, pull over,” O’Malley ordered. Williams nodded silently, his hands tight on the wheel of the truck. Checking his watch, he noted the time. Nearly 0530. They’d only been driving for an hour since they fled the site of the attack in the woods, but by mutual agreement between O’Malley and Sergeant Jones, it wasn’t safe to drive in daylight.
“There, sir,” Williams said from the driver’s seat. He tapped the brakes three times to warn the two Humvees behind them, then eased the big truck off the pavement and turned onto a dirt road. Driving for another 10 minutes until the trees covered the skies over them, he killed the engine. For a moment, there was no sound but the ticking of the cooling engine and the soft coo of a mourning dove in the distance. The sudden silence surprised O’Malley, and he sat motionless, savoring the stillness after the night of violence and death.
Hearing the soldiers clambering out of the truck behind him, he forced himself to move, and opened the door, gingerly making his way down onto the forest floor.
As he stretched, feeling his entire body ache, he heard his name called, “Captain O’Malley?”
“Yeah?” He looked up to see Specialist Ewart at the rear of the truck. “What’s up?”
“What do we do with the elf?” The big specialist gestured at the slim figure next to him, held by one of the paratroopers. She stood quietly with her hands bound and a hood over her head.
With a frown, O’Malley replied, “Put her over by that big tree. We need to talk to her.”
As Ewart and the other soldier pushed the captive elf towards the tree, Acevedo appeared.
“Sir, what do we do with them?” she asked, pointing to the two massive orcs. The pair were standing next to the Humvee they’d just climbed out of. Several of the airborne were watching them distrustfully, their rifles close at hand.
O’Malley took off his helmet and ran a hand over his head, feeling the grime caked into his hair. After a moment, he sighed. “Acevedo, I don’t know. Treat them like soldiers?”
The young NCO cocked her head at him for a moment, then grinned. She turned and spoke to Staff Sergeant Jones, who had just joined them. “Sergeant, if you’ll handle setting up security, I’ll get on the rest, then we can plan for tonight.”
The NCO nodded her assent and began giving orders. Acevedo turned to the two orcs and pointed. “You two. Get some wood for a fire.”
With a grunt of assent, both of the massive orcs immediately headed into the woods.
Watching them go, O’Malley asked, “What if they run?”
“Who cares?” Acevedo replied. “It’s not like we could stop them, anyway.” She put her hands on her hips and watched the hulking figures move into the dimness of the approaching dawn. “Plus, I don’t think they will. They seem like the type of dudes who, when they give their word, they keep it.” She turned back to O’Malley. “Did you get a chance to talk to Jones about the plan?”
“Such as it is, yeah. Apparently, there’s a big ridge that runs for like 200 miles. That’s the next main line of resistance. The 28th Infantry and a couple of regiments of the 82nd were supposed to buy time for Fifth Army to dig in and k
eep these fuckers from breaking through the mountains and into western Pennsylvania,” O’Malley replied.
“Ok. So where is this ridgeline, and how do we get there?” Acevedo asked. “Big Army is going to want to talk to shithead over there.” She gestured at the elf, who was sitting by the tree, guarded by Ewart and Williams.
“That’s the problem,” O’Malley replied. “It’s about 15 miles west, and judging by what we saw last night, there’s probably a lot of bad guys between here and there.” He unfolded a map and pointed at it. “We’re about here. There’s this small set of hills, then a big valley, then the Blue Mountain.” Acevedo cocked her head at the map and squinted as he spoke. “It’s not really a mountain, though. It’s a tall, steep ridge, and the only ways through are rivers, rail, and road cuts. It’s a great defensive line.”
“Unless you’ve got dragons,” Acevedo commented sourly, “and magical air superiority.”
“Yeah.” O’Malley folded the map. “Details.” He looked at the captive elf. “We need to talk to her.”
“Ok.” Acevedo and O’Malley walked over to the captive. Supervised by Staff Sergeant Jones, Ewart had dumped the elf’s belongings into a pile and was looking at them. Acevedo crouched down and picked up the wand. She examined it for a moment. It had a polished leather holster and was about 12 inches long. One end came to a slight tapered point, and the other end was clearly a handle. On the handle there were a series of carvings that glowed faintly when she ran her fingers over them. Seeing one of the runes glow brighter, she quickly put it down.
Ewart grinned, seeing her inspecting the wand. “I saw that, too. Thought about testing it, but I don’t know if it’d blow up, or turn me into a frog, or some shit.”