“Do you, Dravex Tark, swear to uphold the values of the Varkh for as long as your life provides service?” The commander stood before me, his broad shoulders reaching past both sides of my vision so that his shadow is all that I see, his command pin reflecting the bright white of the sterile training grounds where I swear my official Tarn to the Varkh Ascendancy.
“Jura Sorak!” I reply with the programmed affirmative.
“Then you shall rise as Skarnorn Dravex Tarkorn. Purge Imperator, of the bloodline Dravex, Tark The Flame.” The effort I take to prevent any emotion from coming over me as I achieve all that I have been working towards for the last 3 years. I stand and take my place with the rest of the Purge Legions, who all welcome me with open arms as their new brother.
As the group celebrates their new members the Sorak comes over to give us our official commands from the Imperarch himself. “You are heading to a world with a heretical plague, there is currently a mining operation utilizing the local population. You are to follow the commands of the local praevar and your Sorak. Docking Bay 10, tomorrow at 050 Metrics in the third Segment. Skarn Trekh! Varkh Etern!”
Every single one of us enthusiastically shouted Varkh Etern back at the Sorak. I pick up my pack and think back to when I left for training my father happily recounting his days with his Zint Rekt following some Sarthari Dren, he never caught them, he always resented every Sarth-ulkh and their half-breed Umbric scum.
I waited in the docking bay for the next day to arrive, sitting against the wall I see a trio of soldiers that seem to be dancing around the docking bay talking to each other with a blade out. I see the shortest of them, laughing while he animatedly stabs at the air, while his friends laugh with him. I then see a Molari walking past carrying an overweight crate with their cybernetic arms as one of the soldiers jumps in his way, I watch as the Augborn turns to avoid it, when the group just cuts him off from all other directions. The Augborn set down the crate it was carrying and appeared to say something back to them and the group laughed as they separated and let him pass, but not before shouting “DONT MESS WITH SKARN TREKH!!”
They walked over still laughing as one spins a blade with his one hand trying to show off how skilled he is with it. While he talks with his friends, he looks at me, his greasy hair cut short on the sides with small specks of facial hair that he tried to groom into a semblance of a beard. “I recognize you!” He points the blade at me like an extension of his hand “You were in the naming ceremony for the Skarn Trekh Legion. You excited to purge the heretics? I hope it's some Strand Witches!” He chuckles out, referring to the Light of the Hollow Star.
“Yeah!” I say trying to match his energy. “Is this your first tour?” Trying to make small talk.
“Nah! This would be my seventh in the Skarn Trekh.” He unrolls the sleeve of his jacket and reveals six large scars in his arm like tick marks. “Mostly I’ve been taking on the Fold enclaves but I want to burn some real heretics, not just stubborn animals that won't be broken. Name’s Merkorn, but you can call me Merk." As he finishes speaking he uses his oversized knife to carve another mark to match the rest.
As the largest of the group speaks up, “Drevorn, Drev, 5th.” His face is burned on the right half that prevents hair from growing and has left an unsightly scar across his head. “Took a canister from Cinder-Cultists, nearly took my right half off. Only ended up losing an ear, won't let them turn me into a Molari though. Shameful what they allow in the Varkh”
The last one speaks up small and as weasel-like as a colonial can be, chuckling to himself between sentences. “You hear they got us on the same transport as the Loyalty Corps?” The words sticking in the air with disdain, the loyalty corps were the cannon fodder, everyone knew their purpose, even its own members. “Treating us the same as they do the help, like we're a vekking joke.”
Merk shot back “Shut up Geth!” At this, the small one stopped his inane chuckling. “So what's the new guy’s name?” now pointing his knife back at me as his arm lets a small flow of blood out from his new scar.
“Uhh, yeah,” shaking out of the stupor I found myself in, “I’m Tarkorn, Tark, I guess. This is my first tour, kinda nervous. Thought I was going to get into the Zint-Rekt like my dad.”
Merk just laughed, “Zint-Rekt? Those guys are vekking losers, just spend their time chasing the Tide-Kin. You're lucky we found you!” He said now looking at his friends who mirror his movements and nodded along, “Stick with us, we’ll show you why Skarn-Trekh is the best.” I just nodded along, happy to have a group of friends.
We watch as the rest of the Skarn-Trekh soldiers file in, each one unique in their own terrifying way, with tattoos and scars differentiating them from each other, only matched by the bloodlust in their eyes. Eventually our Sorak arrived and each of us tightened like we were wound and ready to be set out on attack. “Skarn-Trekh Zorn-3! You are on ship Trekh-Ekta 984-136, We are sharing the transport with the Loyalty Corps.” There is a collective groan across all of us, I join in. “Attention!” All of us snap back to razor focus, “I will not hear of any Skarn-Trekh soldiers getting caught hazing any of those impure on the ship. We are all soldiers for the Varkh. I expect each of you to treat your fellow soldiers with respect! Now move out!”
I picked up my pack and started marching with the rest of the unit to the ship. As we were waiting to board, Merk came up behind and clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to cause me to wince. “Tark, I’m gonna be your bunk mate! I’ll show you the ropes. How to get all the supplies you want, how to make the other soldiers listen to you. It's about fear.” He says giving me a knowing smile, as I hear Geth chuckling in the background.
“Yeah, but the Sorak said we weren't to do anything.” I say back, concerned about getting disciplined. The punishments for disobeying a Sorak were not to be taken lightly.
“Ahhh, he just said don't get caught. You’ll figure out that it's about listening to the exact words the Sorak uses." He gives me a wink and I see his hand go to his blade. “We just need to make sure that nobody sees us…”
Aboard the ship for the next three cycles I grab my bunk and Merk grabs the one right next to me. Out of the corner of my eye I see some Umbric members of the loyalty corps walking by attempting to be as quiet and unseen as they can. Merk just looks at me with a terrifying glee in his face. “This is gonna be a fun ship.”
I follow Merk to the mess hall as he shoves Umbrics and Molari out of his way, as all of them look at us knowing they can do nothing. Where there is already a line of loyalty corps members getting their food. I go to stand in the line as Merk grabs my arm and pulls me up to the front. “What the hell are you doing? You don’t get served after the hybrids!” he says loud enough for everyone to hear and the entire room goes silent. Before Merk adds “It’s like a funeral in here, I thought you hybrids knew how to have a good time! Play us a tune from your momma's home world!”
I see some of them actively ignoring him, with a few sarth-ulkhs and grav-ulkhs trying to continue their business. He knocks the tray out of one of a sarthari umbric’s hands and the metallic crash is loud enough to stifle the entire mess. Everyone is now staring at him, Merk steps his black leather boot in the man's food and says “Ain’t you gonna eat that? You Umbric scum.”
I feel a smile creep across my face as I remember how my father would always look down on them, but then I see the exhaustion on the umbric’s face, and the pettiness of it all set in. As though he’s had to deal with this his entire life and is too tired to fight back.
Eventually a low ranking commander came in and saw the commotion, “LC! Attention!” all the members of the loyalty corps stood up at attention, while Merk just laughed to himself, the commander gave Merk a stare and then shouted “LC, Move out!”
As the hybrids left the room Merk got one last insult in “Guess you can teach a beast to follow rules!”
A gravari umbric muttered to himself “Too bad the beasts get free reign…” looking at Merk who went blood red.
“What did you just vekking say to me you scum?” trying to make his frame more imposing than the enormous gravari umbric’s already was.
When he saw it the commander just stood in between Merk and the Umbric saying “LC Ekt-1246 you are to go to your bunk.” now just making direct eye contact with Merk, “The Skarn-Trekh are only going to be a minor distraction and will be gone in three cycles. Until then, LC will be having meals in the docking bay.” He waits for the soldier to leave before continuing with Merk. “You got some set on you! I am a superior officer.”
Merk let out another chuckle as Drev and Geth join us in the room, while Merk just smiles at the officer. “Superior? In what way are you superior? Cause you got some extra stripes and the Varkh lets you play with its pets?! You haven't been superior to anyone since you left your momma!”
“Your Sorak will hear about this!” As he walks off Merk just chuckles to himself joined by Geth.
“Aren’t you worried we’re going to get into trouble?” I ask the group.
“From that umbric lover? What is he going to do?” Merk grabs his food from the mess line and goes back to the table to sit with his feet propped up.
About 20 metrics pass when the Sorak marches into the room and each of us jumps to attention. He is flanked by the Loyalty Corps Commander who has a wide smile on his face as he stands aside to watch. “Men! I have received a report that you have been loudly causing problems in the mess hall with the Loyalty Corps which has been corroborated by their commanding Officer. I gave you a warning before we got on the ship. You were not to be seen doing anything like this!” I again hear the subtle difference, but the LC Commander doesn't seem to notice, he just smiles as he watches our Sorak give us a lashing. “Mess privileges removed for all of you, one cycle. Now get out and return to your quarters! Dismissed!”
I hear the LC Commander trying to argue for a harsher punishment, before the Sorak cuts him off and dismisses him as well. We return to the bunks while Merk angrily mutters to himself calling the commander a worthless piece of hybrid loving scum. I try to calm him down “I dont think we should do anything else. Lets just try to stay under the radar.”
“Under the radar?! We are the Skarn Trekh, we are the ones the Varkh sends in to scare the locals into giving up before the real fighting even starts. That piece of filth thinks he’s more important than me? I’ll show him…” as he straps his knife to his leg and pries off the vent covering.
“What the hell are you gonna do?” I frantically ask him.
He looks back and for a moment I catch a murderous glint in his eye, before he quickly switches to a mask of complete control. “I’m just gonna talk to him, and if anyone asks you. I was here all night, playing cards with you and the boys.” He pulls himself up before turning back and saying. “Got it.” He doesn't pose it as a question, just a demand. I freeze in response and he shouts “Tark! You got it!” that it snaps me out of it and I just nod.
I just lay there in the bed with the door shut waiting for something, anything to happen. Eventually what feels like a full segment passes and I nearly drop my head to sleep when I hear fumbling through the vents again. Merk pulls himself into the room, his shirt is ruffled up and he has a shiny glint of red on his shoulder. The look on his face is of complete satisfaction, like a predator after a full meal, I don't say anything, I just watch as he goes over to the sink and pulls out his knife covered in blood and begins to wash it in the sink. The metallic scent of the blood hitting the iron in the water and making the entire room smell of old blood. Merk takes a deep whiff and exhales like it is a comforting scent and he is returning to a simpler time.
The thought of the LC commander is the last image I see before sleep, did he truly deserve his punishment for defending his soldiers? Suddenly my dreams are assaulted by the scent of the blood, its metallic smell stinging my nostrils. It is so strong I feel like I am swimming in it, I suddenly feel the urge to vomit. I wake to hear Geth and Merk chuckling as Drev just throws me a towel, I run to the toilet and unleash the vomit before washing my face in the sink.
The smell from last night is still there, then I look in the mirror and see that Merk has drawn onto my face with the blood as a kind of prank. I vomit again trying to peel the dried blood from my face. As the laughter outside the room gets more raucous. I exit the room “This isn't funny!” Furiously scrubbing my face as hard as I can.
“Come on Tark. It's just a joke! Sorry you don't have a sense of humor!” Merk says now spinning the knife in his hand again.
Suddenly our door springs open and the sorak is standing there. We all jump to attention, “At ease boys! Where were you each last night?”
Merk quickly says “We were playing poker last night, Sorak, Tark really put a beating down on all of us.”
Drev, just grumbled out “Thats right Sorak, Tark is pretty good at poker.”
Geth quickly added, “Absolutely Sorak.”
They all looked at me. When the sorak spoke “Well Tarkorn?”
I just mumbled out at first “Yes, I was…uh-yeah, I was in the room last night, Sorak.”
“Alright boys, there was a murder last night everyone is confined to quarters until we figure it out.” The sorak said and the door was shut.
Merk just looked back at me and then said in a sing-song voice “That was pretty suspicious, Tark!” before returning to his normal vaguely threatening tone. “You gotta get your confidence up! They might think you're lying!”
I just angrily say back to them “I’m no good at it! It's not like they teach, ‘How to lie to a superior officer’ at basic training! Why did you have to make ME the crux of the whole lie?!”
“Oh, looks like Tarky finally grew some balls.” Merk sits up, spinning his knife again. “What, exactly, did you want me to do? Let that Hybrid Humper get away with telling on us? We just sit quietly in our room like little babies?”
I just take a deep breath, is this what my father wanted? I look at Geth who is staring at Merk smiling as if he’s watching a nature documentary. Drav just looks at me and shakes his head, telling me to back off. “No. I ju-” I begin speaking before Merk cuts me off and stands up, putting his knife away in a quick motion.
“NO? See, that's why I had to do it! You gotta relax Tark!” he slaps me on the shoulder again and I wince slightly. “Listen, you just gotta bend the truth slightly. So, you aren't good at lying, just stick with the truth. Just make it sound like you were with us.”
“I was with you guys…” I mutter to myself, resigned to fate.
“That's good! Now just repeat it, till you believe it!” Merk said.
The sorak returned, looking at each of us before lingering on me and saying “Merkorn, come with me.” As Merk smiled at each of us and left the room, the door shut behind him.
I look at both of them, “Drav, What was that?” I mimic his movement from before.
“Just, it's best not to stick your head up too far, the tallest grass gets cut first.” He says, then he looks with a sullen face, his half burned eye almost forced shut. “Stay in the lane…no one gets hurt…”
“Except the commander.” I say back, causing Geth to start laughing. Eventually Merk returns, without the sorak, he has a large smile on his face. I just stare back confused. “So, what happened?”
“No evidence was found that could be tied to anyone on the ship, the investigation was dropped.” He says confidently.
“So what was the sorak talking to you about?” I say, even more scared.
“Oh, he-uh just let me know that the complaint has been dropped. Also, uh, you need to work on your lying. I covered for you, but next time you may not be so lucky that I was here.” He says back to me. Leaning back in his bunk spinning his knife again.
I never left the bunk for the rest of the trip. I would not be seen, I didn't care if that made me look even more guilty in everyone's eyes. After another day we finally landed on the planet Zarulon III, removing our packs and heading into the fortress the Varkh set up for us. The air was choked with a brown dust that stuck in the air, which was thick with the smell of the mining aid the Varkh uses. Creating a mucus like fog that hampered visibility and sound, it was held at bay within the generated atmosphere. I watched as the mining tower spewed out it thick smoke and combined with the dust and then like a bubble, just floated down around the outside of the town and joined the growing mass.
We would be split into groups, decided by the sorak. This was my chance to maybe get with another group, but when the time came for Merk’s group I was first behind him, I saw a flicker of anger across Geth’s face, like I was taking his place. Drev must have seen my face cause he just grabbed my shoulders and said “Don’t worry, we’ll protect you buddy.”
I whispered to myself “yeah...from who…”
As the Sorak shouted over the top “Alright Men! You are to keep watch around the perimeter of the town, if there is anything going in or out not by the main road. You are to open fire, there is a heretical plague outside these walls, anyone approaching is to be considered infected. Is that understood?”
“JURA SORAK!” Every one of us shouts back the programmed affirmative.
Then he continued, “There have been reports of Strand Witches and Heretical Anomalies beyond the town, Watch shifts will be posted outside my office. Keep sharp men! At Ease! We have the Praevar of the planet here to welcome us as well.”
With this, an effete man stepped forward, his purple and red suit shimmering like suede, and a paper thin moustache under his hooked nose. He looked as if he had no business on a planet this filthy, and his voice made it even more apparent. “Gentlemen,” he gave us a bow, we each just stood and watched as he continued. “I am the representative, Praevar Ulonix-Kar Vorakar. We have prepared a feast to celebrate you coming to handle the heretical problem.” He paused as if waiting for applause, no one indulged him aside from his single assistant.
The Praevar waved us in and we saw the most lavish feast any of us had ever seen with exotic meats and vegetables, the local population of Gravari were put in traditional colonial garb, which squeezed each of them and forced them into an uncomfortable posture that clearly was meant to embarrass them more. Their faces stern and focused like their lives depend on this.
Some of the soldiers intentionally try to knock trays out of the servants hands, when alcohol is brought out there is a collective cheer across all of us, the Sorak immediately waves it off, and pulls the Praevar aside. While the cheer changes to a grumble, when the sorak speaks up, “Attention! There will be no celebrating with alcohol before we’ve done any work, you all understand how this works. We remove the threat, then you can celebrate. Is that understood?” Jura Sorak! We all shout back as one collective group. Loud enough that the praevar seems shocked at the unity of the varkh programming.
After the feast we all return to our bunks and wait for the official mission to start tomorrow, Merk just spends the night sitting silently in the dark sharpening his blade, his eyes absorbing all the light in the room and reflecting nothing but darkness back.
The next day we learned our watch shifts, each sub unit was assigned a tower and we were to keep it manned each cycle shifting every 4 segments. We moved our packs from the main military fortress to watch tower 3 on the north side of the town. The walk itself was quiet, as the civilians hid from us inside their slum houses. All of them showing the fear that the Skarn Trekh leaned on. All subservient houses were required to put out a white flag to indicate their submission to the Varkh, one of the alleys we passed had a Lutra scavenging for food out of a dumpster.
We watched as some local peace keepers stood by various stands that promised Bread for Karn Marks while the neon sign over the mine displayed the daily amount of marks that can be earned. The quick math in my head tells me that a person would need to work for a full cycle before they'd have enough marks for a single loaf of bread. Behind us I hear the sounds of someone crying in anguish, we make it to our watch tower and see the area where we will be keeping watch.
We decide how to split up watches, staggering 2 Segments apart, I would be opposite Geth as Merk decided we were of ‘equal skill’, this caused another flash of anger to go across his face. Now eyeing me like I was eager to take his spot, clearly unaware of my distaste for it. Merk and Geth would take the first watch with Merk setting up a sniper’s hide so it would appear like we weren't there and cause a heretic to lower their guard.
I hear plasma bolts going off to wake me from my sleep as Merk and Geth are laughing. I just look at Drev, hearing Merk above saying “Oooh that one’s really running! Look at him go!” another plasma bolt goes off and he just says “Well, that was disappointing. Thought he would have more fight in him.” I go up and look out north, to see a dead gravari laying atop a small bag, its contents spilled out in the bloody dirt, half a loaf of bread, and a set of children’s clothes.
Numb to it at this point I turn the opposite direction to see peacekeepers now marching the civilians out of their houses and into the mine. I head up to take Geth’s spot and sit up there with Merk after his shift ends. We watch as some of them fall and are beaten by the peace keepers, another tries to help, and is similarly beaten, Merk just laughs. “I wonder how long it's been like this?” I say.
“Like what? Structured? Disciplined?” He looks out the sniper scope trying to find enemies at the far end of our 600 Meter Range. “These animals are lucky we got here. Can you even picture what it was like before the Varkh got here?” He begins trailing off and I roll my eyes as he follows up, saying “Vermin running rampant” and lets off a plasma bolt “up, looks like he's got a white flag, you think he’s in the clear?” He lets off another plasma bolt.
“Is he walking on a road?” I say, as he lets off another round.
“Huh, Yeah, I guess he is. Well he’s running on the road now. Guess I’ll let him go.” He starts laughing, I just stare back out of the city trying to see anything through the muddy sky.
“So, how you been Tarky? You’ve been real quiet the last couple days.” he says, still looking out of the scope on the rifle. I say nothing in response, just sitting there silently, with my eyes on the horizon. “Silent eh. Alright, I can work with that, just uh, let me know if you see any heretics out there.”
After a segment he finally takes his eye off the scope and nudges me with his foot. “Switch. You got rifle.” He says matter of fact.
I stand up to switch with him and he yanks me down. “Stay low Tark. Enemies may have snipers, wouldn't want you to lose your head.” This sentence causes me to tense up. He just laughs, “Nah, strand witches don't use snipers, they’re much worse.”
I decided to indulge him and asked “What do they do?” While I sat behind the rifle and peered through the scope. I could see the main road as a haze through the thick brown air.
He leaned forward like he was telling a secret. “I once heard about an entire squad forced to kill each other while the strand witches chanted their heretical incantations. I’ve also heard of strand witches conjuring up ghosts to scare locals, stealing the sick and dying.”
“So it's ghost stories?” I say back. “No one has actually seen one?”
I see him smile. “Oh no. One of my first assignments was on Nok’Thari Hold. We were sent in to remove an insurgency by the strand witches. Typical lunatic vekk, they were utilizing some mists that would reflect your fears back at you. We had a strandsplice slave from Taranwe Kar who was supposed to act as a guide, holding back the mists so we could purge.”
I watch as civilians walk past my scope each holding white flags as they pick up a dead body on the side of the road. While Merk continues speaking “anyway, the strand bitch couldn't keep up the protection for more than a segment at a time, so our pace slowed to a crawl. Me and the boys decided to have some fun with her while we had camp.” He lets the sentence sit in the air as if waiting for me to respond, before continuing again.
“She fought back sure, but not much an empath can do against the butt of a rifle. So we would go back and forth like that, walking for a segment and purging heretics, then resting for a segment and having some…fun with the help.” He leaned back now like he was floating on the clouds above.
Finally I just say back “So, where did you see the strand witches?” Half expecting him to have forgotten why he was initially telling the story.
“Oh yeah, well, during the night some of the weaklings who didn't want to have fun with the strandsplice wandered off into the mists. Lured away like a child to candy.” He’s now smiling as he recalls. “Eventually we realized that the slave had fallen to the heretics, guess she couldn’t take the pressure. Regardless, we all decided to have one big party with her and left her out in the mists naked and covered in the stains of our farewell.” He laughs
“We considered the mission to be a bust, but the Sorak decided we should still try to use the slave as protection, and she couldn't handle some jokes. Decided to turn the mists on us, we had to flee.” He’s now got his hand resting on his knife as if he’s gone too long without touching it.
“So you never actually saw any of the witches? They just lured away the guys who didn't want to join you?” I say back to him and he leans forwards with his hand firmly gripping his blade, like I have challenged him, I immediately back pedal. “I mean aside from the slave that couldn't take the pressure.” He pulls his knife out of his sheathe and begins spinning it in his fingers.
“No, it could have been that there was nothing beyond the mist. I was never brought back for the attempts to retake the planet. We lost eighty percent of the unit on that assault.” He says back.
“Do you know what happened with the planet?” I ask, now watching as civilians walk past, on the main road calmly, all holding their white flags.
“You seeing anything out there Tark?” he asks back, ignoring my question.
“Yeah, just some civvies with their white flags.” I say, "they're walking on the road.”
“Did they take that body?” he asks, pulling out his binoculars he watches. “That's a whole horde of them Tark, why aren't you shooting?”
“Because they have their flags out” I say back trying to give myself a defense.
“You think the enemy can't make a white flag? Give them a warning shot over their heads.” he demands.
I fire one bolt over the crowd and we watch as they begin running. Merk just lets out a chuckle. “Now watch if any of them step off that road, you are cleared.”
I watch as men, women, and children alike all run back towards the town as fast as they can. I see an older gentleman struggling to keep pace with the group and he just collapses off the road, I fire a shot over his head, attempting to make it look like I am following Merks orders. As he watches with glee, I see the fear in the man's eyes, as he seems to look back at me through the scope itself. “Shoot him!” Merk shouts. I close my eyes after training the scope on the man and release a bolt. At this, I hear Merk cackling with delight. I open my eyes and see the man's corpse draining his blood into the ground.
I can only stare forward through the scope as I attempt to leave my body and let Merk take control. Then I hear Drev climbing the ladder. “Alright Merk, time to swap. I’ll keep the kid company.”
Merk just snarkily replies back “Aww, me and Tarky were just starting to bond!” he shuffles over to the exit as Drev climbs up, his massive frame still peeking out as he attempts to shrink himself.
He pulls out his binoculars and looks where the rifle is pointed, just giving a tut. Then he just sits there staring at me as my eyes are locked through the scope, just staring at the man in the dirt. “This is the job you know.” He just speaks plainly to me. I still say nothing in response. “You can either participate in it, or get dragged along.”
I finally close my eyes again and lower my head, “Why are those the only options?”
“Because that is the way it is, you made it into the elite military unit.” He speaks like he’s trying to make a point. I again say nothing. “This is a brotherhood. We all support each other.”
“This doesn't feel like support. Doesn't even feel like brothers.” I just say back to him, opening my eyes and trying to focus the scope on anything else.
Drev just stays silent, saying nothing for a long while before I switch the rifle with him. When I finally look back at the town I see a man who is almost nothing but flesh and bone, crawling out of a building near the mine. He collapses from exhaustion after only making it 5 steps out of the building before some peacekeepers stand up and drag him back inside. I turn back to Drev and just ask him “How long do you think the town has been like this?”
“As long as it's always been. Don't question it. You’ve heard the Ulonix Motto ‘We take what we need and leave only what is necessary to fear us’” he says, looking out the scope with his one good eye.
“But why do we need them to fear us?” I say when Drev turns to look at me and we hear the sound of an enormous explosion happen where the peacekeepers brought the man back the sound was loud enough that all eyes focused outward were turned inward. The debris shot about 60 meters into the air dragging some of the muddy air down with them. Geth came up and mentioned that the prison exploded and some prisoners got taken while switching spots with me. “Did anyone get killed?” I ask.
“Nah, just missing people, the Praevar is listing them as stolen property, offering a reward.” he says back as I go below. I decided to take a few steps outside the watch tower during my break. I walked around the town and saw the genuine fear on people's faces. But who were they really afraid of? Us? Or the Heretics?
I sit down outside of a building and just take some deep breaths, trying to find myself again now that I’m alone. Maybe I’m just not meant for Skarn Trekh, was I even fit for any kind of duty? After several long moments I hear a voice to my right, I don't look up, but I see him spinning him blade between his fingers.
“So how’d the watch go, Tarky? You kill any more heretics?” I grunt in response and he just laughs. “What are you doing out here? There’s heretics in this town, you never know who to trust.” He says pointing to the various houses with his knife.
“I just wanted some air. Figured I’d take some time to enjoy before going back to sleep.” he just crouches down and gets close to me.
“You did good work today Tarky. Don't let emotions go ruining it for you.” Merk says before standing up. “Alright, if you want to stay here, I’ll see you back at the tower.”
I decide to get closer to where the explosion happened. Almost the entire prison has been demolished, but all the surrounding buildings are completely untouched. Curiosity gets the better of me and I ask the guards “Who was in custody?”
“Some of the lazy ones!” one says back grabbing his head as if it was injured, though I saw no wound.
“What does that mean? The ones who couldn't work?” I ask back, confused what the overweight guard meant.
He sits down and says “Yeah, the ones sleeping on the job, can't make it through a shift without taking a break! What are you dumb?” I just step toward him, and he immediately backs down. “I’m sorry Skarn Trekh, the blast rang my bell. The heretics got a good strike in.”
Eventually I see the peacekeepers straighten up and I turn around to see the Sorak standing behind me, I immediately jump to attention. “Tarkorn, we already have investigators working on this. What do you think you're doing?”
“Apologies, Sorak. I was walking through the town to get some air and was walking by, and found it curious that the heretics only destroyed the prison but nothing around it.” I said back to him. He just looks back at me unblinking for several moments, his square jaw mirroring the outline of his broad shoulders.
He eventually just says “Come with me, Soldier.” I followed the sorak as he walked north to Tower 3. “So, what seems to be your interest in the explosion, Soldier?”
“Well, sorak, it just seems convenient. Doesn't it?” I say trying to explain myself. “An explosion loud enough to grab the attention of every watch tower, but not dangerous enough to hurt anyone. The whole thing kind of feels like a distraction.”
“A distraction?” he actually sounds intrigued, “For what, soldier?”
“Well, sorak, if everyone is watching the outside, you would want all eyes looking the other way wouldn't you.”
“So you think the heretics may have invaded the town, soldier?” He asks, and I hear a hint of excitement in his voice.
“Possibly Sorak.” I say, “It would be best to question the locals.”
“Question the locals?! No, we will do tests for Strand presence, this will tell us if the plague has reached us.” I see a flicker of fire in his eyes. “It is time for a Torch Mandate.”
Confused, I look at him “What is a Torch Mandate” trying to go through my mental map of Varkh Protocols.
“Oh, just ask your fellows. I must prepare. Thank you, soldier.” he says and marches off back to the fortress. I make the final few steps back to the Tower.
Walking in, I see Drev just sitting down, preparing himself for sleep, when I ask him. “What is a Torch Mandate?”
His eyes fill with a kind of fear as he touches his burn scars. “Thats a purge order. We are to put the town to the torch. Burn out the heretics and the Varkh will bring in new slaves to work. Why are you asking about that?” I explain about the sorak and my line of questioning. “Well you were so concerned about the locals, now they're all gonna burn.”
I let myself drift to sleep, letting the agony of everything I’ve done truly set in, hopefully the strand tests would reveal some safety. The following day we go through most of our business, but I see the hundred or so civilians forced into the mine, while the peace keepers ensure the few that can barely stand are forced into the mine to work for their shift.
I suddenly feel a strange wave pass over me, as if I'm standing in an ocean and the tide washes me to safety. I look at Merk and I suddenly feel his simmering rage and his chaotic control, and we begin to hear the klaxons going off around the town. The strand detectors seem to be flowing over the town like a natural phenomena, beginning in the north and flowing to the south. Eventually stopping after ten metrics. But I suddenly feel all of the emotions in the air, the palpable fear from the town, the arrogance from the guards
Then I look at Merk who has a look of pure excitement on his face, then I feel his excitement. “Grab your gear and head to the fortress, we’ll need to grab our flame breathers.” I stand up and see Geth standing by the door talking to Drev.
The walk to the fortress is tense, while Merk walks next to me. “This is the really fun part.” I just look back at him grimly. “Ohhhh, come on Tarky. This was your brilliant idea! Lets have some fun!”
We arrive at the fortress and the varkh banners are everywhere, blood red and black. We walk up and retrieve our flame breathers, they are heavy with their fuel. As we go stand at our positions, we look up and at the raised platform extending from the fortress is the Sorak, flanked by the Praevar, looking unusually smug, his nose raised high as if he’s trying to avoid the scent of the town that he rules over. Then the Sorak begins his speech and I feel the collective emotions of the soldiers all begin to converge into one.
“Soldiers! We have been sent here by the Varkh, our mission blessed by the Imperarch himself! Today, I stand before you and order a purge, we will cleanse the filth from this impure town! We see the signs here – the weakness festering in their slums, the defiance erupting from their prisons! Proof the plague takes root! We will show them the truth of what it means to be a pyre-born! First we lost our home on Solarii Magna when the evil luminar heretics and their mutated allies! We will not lose this world to their filth!”
Then the emotions of the soldiers hit its peak, they are all seething, frothing with rage. As we are turned around and our fury is unleashed upon the town. We are to go from door to door burning every house we pass, whether there are people inside or not. Merk grabs me and Geth joins Drev, we go through the first several rows of houses burning them and then the feeling hits me, first I hear the screams, drawing closer, followed by the pain of searing flesh.
I begin to scream in pain as I fall to the ground feeling as if my skin is burning. Geth starts laughing as I writhe in pain. Merk picks me up off my feet and smacks me, as Geth laughs harder, I try to focus through and look at Drav who has nothing but a sullen look on his face, his burned flesh reflecting the flames.
Eventually Merk drags me away, while Drev and Geth are sent in the opposite direction, I push past the pain and join Merk in purging the next few houses when suddenly I feel a signal reaching out to me, through the pain, through the fear. Guiding me, I follow the feeling ignoring the houses, Merk begins to shout, but I can no longer hear him,just the cries for help guiding me to this small shack near where Tower 3 was, I pull open the door and see it. The source of the signal. A group of umbric children holding each other and trying to protect each other from the flames.
Merk catches up to me and I turn to try and stand between him and the children. The look in his eye changes to complete malice. He drops his flame breather and goes for his knife. I grab my service pistol tucked on my side.
“Come on now Tarky, you’ve been a good student. You’re gonna finally fail me now? When it matters the most. Vekk Tarky you ar-” he looks away momentarily and I loose a plasma bolt into his head. He laughs one last time as his fingers try to fumble for his knife. When he collapses to the ground, I see behind him Geth and Drav.
Geth has a similar murderous look in his eyes as he begins to charge towards me avoiding my shots, using his weasel like frame to his advantage. Geth almost reaches me when suddenly he is pierced through his abdomen and raised in the air. Drav has shoved a piece of the nearby building frame through him and hoisted him into the air.
I just look at Drev shocked then I feel the desperate cries behind me and I look at Drav. “I gotta get them out of here! I’m sorry Drav!”
He just looks back at me, a grim determination in his face. “Go. I’ll cover for you.”
I grab the kids and take them through the tower guiding them with whatever this new sense is. Until finally after what feels like a full segment of marching I finally feel a sense of peace that has been alien to me since I was sworn in.
Then I see the truth of it, the heretical plague. It is an Elari named Kelnorin, merely meditating in the room. When I enter he stands to reach out to me and embrace the children, I feel a completeness that causes me to sob. I was free, safe, whole.
