As he drew closer to those training, they quickly stopped and formed up for him. One read his nametag and turned back to the barracks, yelling loudly in his own language. King had no hope of understanding it, but it was pretty clear he was calling the others to join them. There was a flurry of movement as troops filled out from both blocks and formed up in front of him as if for inspection. The one who’d called them out addressed him directly.
“Sir, Kavildar Baclu. 2nd Platoon formed up and ready for your inspection!”
Finally something King recognised, military discipline, and a rank he was familiar with. A Kavildar was the Rhepoy equivalent of a Sergeant, though they’d never hold the status of a Sergeant in the regular corps.
“Thank you, Kavildar,” he said as he paced up and down the line.
He tried to act as if he’d done it a thousand times, but the truth was he’d never had a real command before. Some wore their uniform jackets; others were in loose shirts, and those who’d been training still shirtless. They looked like a rabble, and nothing like he was used to.
“I am Lieutenant King, your new platoon leader. It is my honour and pleasure to take on this command. This world is new to me, but being a Marine and an officer is not. I will endeavour to learn everything I can of this place and the people who inhabit it. Any questions?”
After a few seconds the Kavildar finally spoke up.
“On behalf of the platoon I would like to welcome you, Horproxa Jamiya.”
King couldn’t tell if it was genuine or merely pleasantries that were expected rather than given. He couldn’t get a tell on their facial expressions and tone. When they spoke, they sounded enthusiastic and lively, and yet their faces so often looked cold and stern. He also could not get a bearing on their age, but suspected most were much older than he was. Getting their respect was not going to be easy, and he couldn’t tell if it were even possible. But it was at least clear they were going to follow his orders because of the chain of command.
“All right, let’s see what you have to offer. Back here in full battle order in ten mikes,” he said to the Kavildar.
“Yes, Lieutenant!” The Prian turning back to the others and yelled commands in his native tongue.
King couldn’t help but feel like an outsider. He didn’t know how many of them even understood him, and he certainly didn’t comprehend a single word they were sharing. This was going to be a much harder assignment than he was expecting. As they disappeared into the barrack rooms, he took the opportunity to sit down on a bench in front of one barracks that was casting a shadow. It provided some relief from the burning sun. He slumped down and sighed. It had been a lot to take in, and the heat was exhausting in a way he’d never known. It felt like he’d been running all day in full gear.
“How can a place be so damn hot and still people live in it?” He knew the answer, because the whole planet was like it. They had no choice. He was starting to get a sense of how hardy the locals were. He wasn’t built for this environment at all, and nothing in his training had prepared him for it.
Do those back in the central planets have any idea what it’s like out here on the edge, or do they even care?
He was almost falling asleep in the heat, and the time passed quickly as he was stunned by its ferocity. In no time at all the troops were pouring out of the doors to form up once again. They mostly wore their own tribal clothing, except for their uniform tunics, webbing, and firearms. Unlike him, they wore no armour, and he wondered if that was by choice. He forced himself upright to not risk being seen as weak.
“Sir, formed up and ready for inspection!” Baclu ordered.
“Thank you, as you were,” he replied, looking up and down the line.
“Where is your armour?”
“Sir, it is not part of our equipment.”
He tried to appear friendly. “And why is that? Some tradition?”
But it was clearly not the case.
“We use what we are issued with, and we are not issued personal armour, Sir,” he replied sternly.
Sadly, King knew exactly what that meant. That the budget didn’t extend to equipping them with it. But he didn’t press any further.
“All right, let’s see what you’ve got. Left face, quick march!”
They carried on towards the perimeter of the fort and towards the gates. The guards looked surprised to see him approach, but they soon opened the gates as they drew near. Several about the fort had stopped to look at the new Lieutenant and were clearly surprised by his actions. But he wanted to set a good standard from day one. He was going to announce his arrival in no uncertain terms.
* * *
As Sergeant Stone watched the rest of his platoon return with King at their side, he wiped the sweat from his brow with a cloth and stuffed it back into his webbing. The new Lieutenant was sweating even more than he was. Stone shook his head.
“Great, another kid with everything to prove,” he muttered to himself.
“Company, halt!” King called, “Right face! Fall out!”
He quickly approached Stone, suspecting he was the Sergeant he’d been waiting for.
“Lieutenant King,” he said with a smile as he approached to shake the Sergeant’s hand in an informal fashion.
“Stone,” he replied angrily, “Enjoy your parade, did you, Sir?”
King was surprised by his tone.
“Excuse me, Sergeant?”
“First day on your first post, and you’re parading Rhepoys like they’re fresh-faced cadets.”
“What are you implying?”
“That you wanted to make a show, and that’s not what we’re here to do.”
“I don’t much like your tone, Sergeant,” he snarled.
“Get used to it, Sir. I’ve seen more shit and kicked more ass than I can care to remember. I’ll be around long after you’ve moved on from this shithole of a place. I’m not here to show you respect. I’m here to get a job done. If you don’t like the way I do and say things, take it to the Colonel. I know how to do my job. Maybe someday you will, too.”
King could barely believe what he was hearing, and yet didn’t know what he could do about it. He remembered how the Colonel talked about Stone. He was in no place to report the veteran NCO. He had to handle this himself, so he didn’t back down. He stepped up closer to enter Stone’s personal space, showing no fear.
“I may not have the years you do, but that’s not on me. We all get old. But not all of us get better. You’re an old hand. I get that, but don’t believe for a second that I’m not up to this. I am your platoon leader, and you will respect the chain of command; do you get me?”
Stone smiled, as if mocking him.
“Yes, Sir.” He saluted and walked away.
“Want some advice from an old hand?”
Stone turned back, and King waited for him to go on.
“Get to know this place, before it kills you!”
His tone and intention weren’t clear at all, but before King could say a word, he turned a bend and was gone. The Lieutenant shook his head. That wasn’t the sort of start he’d hoped for with the man who was not just far more experienced than he was, but had also been running the platoon solo for some time.
“Well that could have gone better,” he sighed.
The working day was drawing to a close, but there were still several hours of light left. He didn’t really know what to do with himself. He took a moment to take a closer look at everything around him and realized how alien this place was to him.
“Get to know the place? All right,” he said with a smile and walked to the motor pool. Even from afar he could see most of the mechanics were locals. Some were civilians, others Rhepoys. But they were under the guidance of regulars, as was the case everywhere. They were still busily working and clearly far from done. He approached a Sergeant who quickly saluted him.
“Sergeant, I need some wheels.”
“Sir?”
“I want to get out there and see this plac
e for myself. Get an idea of my surroundings,”
“Sir…I…”
“I wasn’t looking for a debate on the matter. What can you give me?”
“The Sergeant was young for his rank, maybe a couple of years older than King. He didn’t hesitate any further and pointed to a small four seat open-topped vehicle. It had a tubular cage over it, but only a windshield for protection from the elements, and a small canvas stretched over the top.
“Sir, we usually…”
“I’ll take it.”
He’d never seen one before. It was some kind of light utility vehicle, emphasis being on the light. It had no weapons or armour of any kind, but it looked like it would be capable over sand, with oversize tyres and great ground clearance. He leapt into the buggy to find the controls were immediately familiar to him.
“Got to love the Empire, always consistent,” he said, smiling to himself.
He powered the vehicle up, locked his rifle into a rack between the seats, feeling exhilarated as he prepared to set off into the unknown. For the young officer, this is what he signed up to do. He could hear a voice call something in the distance, but it was drowned out by the whirl of the motors, especially once he put his foot down.
Sand kicked up all around him. The little vehicle had a lot more torque than he’d expecting. He looked back to see a dust cloud between him and the depot. He knew that wouldn’t go down well with those working there. For a moment he cringed, but then smiled as the prospect of it. He felt like a kid who’d stolen a car. Exactly the sort of thing his cousin was always trying to do, and yet as an officer he could do it without repercussions.
King reached the gate in no time, and the guards opened it without a word. He saluted them as he went past. He cruised casually out of the gates and into the town. It was quiet, but those Prian civilians that were out all turned to look at him, but he didn’t know why. He headed out for the open road, soon leaving the limits of the small town and heading for the open road, which was little more than compacted sand, marked by all those vehicles that had come before him. There was no one in sight as the barren landscape opened up before him. He was eager and excited to explore and veered off the road, hitting the accelerator to the floor. The little buggy soared forward, and he hit a small dune, going airborne for a moment, and flew through the air.
“Woohoo!”
It was the first time he’d felt truly free since he signed up. He crashed back down to the sand, but the off-road suspension soaked it up, and he blasted onward.
“Get to know this place? Damn right I will, every bit of it!”
Chapter 3
King had the time of his life as he blasted over dunes and out into the wilderness. The sun was very low in the sky, and as he began to climb a slope, he saw the stars in a view he could never have imagined. His eyes lit up with amazement, but he quickly looked back to the slope ahead and navigated through some craggy rocks. The buggy rocked back and forth as he tackled the terrain rather quickly, finally reaching the crest to find a broad flat crag of undulating terrain. It was like a shelf high above all else. He brought the vehicle to a halt and leapt out. He rushed to the tallest rock outcrop and hopped from one stone to another until he was at the highest point.
He looked around at all the ground he’d covered. It was cooling quickly now, and it was the most comfortable he’d felt since arriving. He took in deep breathes of the sweet-smelling air. It wasn’t thick and heavy anymore. He smiled as he marvelled at the view, but then looked up once more to the beautiful stars. It was getting darker by the minute, making the view better. The stars were so large and bright he felt like he could almost reach out and touch them.
“Wow, that’s a hell of thing. Maybe I’m gonna like this place after all.”
As exhilarating as it was, he knew he needed to get back. He had no idea what night was like in this place. He jumped down and headed back to his vehicle with a huge smile on his face. As he rounded a small rock outcrop to his vehicle, he froze. Six Prians were poring over his vehicle as if trying to rob what they could. They weren’t wearing the uniforms of the Rhepoys.
“Hey, get off that!”
He expected them to do as ordered. They looked startled, but they didn’t flee. One took a few paces towards him and stopped, looking him up and down, and smiling in a menacing fashion. In that moment King realised he had no authority there at all. They didn’t respect his rank or his position as an Empire Marine. He looked past the angry Prian to his rifle still locked firmly in the rack of the vehicle. The other aliens gathered around the first, who drew his Firanwar. They looked like they’d hit the jackpot, and King had never felt more alone in his life. He was empty-handed against six angry looking enemies.
None of them carried firearms. Four had their iconic Firanwars, while two had simple staffs. Their clothing was rough and ragged. They looked like simple nomadic people. He’d read about such people, but never thought to encounter them.
“As an officer of the Empire, I order you to disperse!”
They didn’t appear to understand his words, or if they did they had no intention of complying. The first took a pace closer with his sword raised ready to strike. That moment King remembered the Colonel’s gift, the Guardian that was still on his side, as Rossman had ordered him to do. He reached for it and held it out before him. The creature smiled at the sight of what appeared as nothing more than a steel stave, but he stretched his thumb up to the pressure switch. The blade activated and extended as the guard expanded out to encompass his hand.
It felt good to have a weapon in hand. He was reminded of his time at the Academy. He’d trained with the safe training versions of the Guardian but had never experienced the real thing. Not for a single moment had he thought he’d ever have to use one. He assumed they were nothing more than a ceremonial relic. But his training was kicking in, and he remembered how they were trained to use them. He tucked his left hand onto his hip, out of the way of his swings at the enemies. He presented the weapon forward in defence to threaten his attacker, but they still weren’t intimidated. He was outnumbered, but he showed no fear.
“There is no need for you to die here. Lay down your weapons and leave!”
He heard steps at his back, turning in time to see the staff of a seventh Prian swing for his face. He had no time to react and took the full force of the blow on his nose. He was thrown from his feet and landed hard. For a moment he blacked out as blood burst out from his nose. As he came around, he realised his attacker was rifling through his webbing, taking anything and everything he could. King was now empty-handed. He’d lost his weapon in the fall. He looked to his side to see it was a metre away, and the Prian was pinning him down as he robbed him. He looked back to his attacker who seemed shocked to see him conscious.
King had to act quickly and decisively. He grabbed his attacker’s head with both hands and pulled him down as he arched upwards. Driving his helmet into his face, he used the force of his hold to accelerate them into the strike. Near black blood burst out over his already bloody face. It was disgusting, but he fought through it, fighting for his life. He drove his elbow into his attacker’s head as hard as he could, and it was enough for him to push him away. He picked up the staff they had laid before him as his bloodied attacker got up. Though he looked a little stunned, King didn’t hesitate for a moment and struck him across the collar with all his power. His shoulder collapsed down as a horrifying crack rang out, and he went down to the sand. He quickly turned back to the others, expecting they’d be coming for him, and indeed they were.
He couldn’t believe the situation he’d found himself in. He’d trained to be a rifleman but was fighting it out in hand-to-hand as if he’d slipped through time to the dark days of old. All he could do was fight for his life as a mighty blow from a Firanwar came for his head. He lifted the staff and parried it, but his opponent kept closing and took a firm hold on his staff, locking it in place to get a clean strike with his blade. King lifted both up and kicke
d him in the stomach, driving him back. He looked for his Guardian and spotted it, but his enemy had, too. There was a pause for a brief moment before he leapt for it. He rolled in the sand as he took it up, coming to his feet just in time. The blade activated as the Firanwar clashed against it. His arm shook from the blow as he barely managed to stop the strike, but as he saw four of the others approaching, he knew he had to step it up. He had to fight like a lion, or not see another sunrise.
Stepping in close to his opponent, he grabbed hold of his sword arm and smashed the bowl guard of his Guardian into his face. He cut down, severing the right leg above the knee with a brutal blow. He’d never killed before, but he had to kill or be killed. He became a different man in that moment. The next one came at him with his staff, thrusting straight for his already bloodied and sore face. He went down against the staff, smashing it to the ground while continuing forward, running the tip of his Guardian into his opponent. He turned to face another but felt a blade impact against his armour, which it could not penetrate, but as it slid off, it sliced into his shoulder. He cried out before bringing his blade down onto his attacker’s head with all his vengeful might. The blade pierced all the way to the Prian’s neck, splitting his head in two.
Through the gaping hole he could see two more coming at him, while the third fought to release his Aquilla from the rack in his buggy. Time was running out, but he didn’t see the odds against him anymore. All he saw was an enemy that must be defeated.
“Ahh!” He ran at them furiously. He wasn’t well versed with the blade, but he had the will to fight and survive, and nothing was going to stand in his way. He cut furiously back and forth, putting his opponents on the defensive. Finally, as they both tried to parry his blows, he feinted at one, quickly slashing down at the knee of the other, dropping them instantly. But the blade of the other slashed across his lead arm as he backed away. He winced in pain but had to recover enough that he didn’t lose the arm from the brutal swing. His opponent kept coming, closing to a grapple, and smashing him back up against a boulder. He landed hand, but his armour saved his spine. The Prian was growling at him as he pushed his blade forward while holding his own sword arm.
Marine- The Last Empire Page 3