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Mother Confessor:

Standing frozen in fear of my life once again. Even though I still have the sword, I do not know what this second intruder has hidden in his coat. Judging by his general physique and stature that he is Terran in origin. Though unlike the one I impaled with the hammer, this one hides his face with some sort of mask. I will find out it’s purpose later, instead of making wild speculation. Only thing I know is that he is military, and most likely high up in chain of command, based on his demeanor. I watch as he shifts the short bladed weapon into a downward angle, suggesting he really is peaceful. With the other hand outstretched and open as he approaches me. This affirms that in fact there is no harm to be dealt me.

Softly I offer,” Apologies for your tech.”

“No, not one of mine. I understand that you have the right to defend yourself”, he replies calmly, in a low gravely tone.

Stepping closer to me.

“Can I see that sword you have there”, he asks.

I nod but remain frozen in place. My eyes follow his hand as it slowly makes it’s way to the handle of the weapon. Slowly withdrawing the curved blade from the sheath. Stepping back a few meters he gives it a few test swings.

“Fine blade you have here. Haven’t seen any like it in over two hundred years”, he states while taking a moment to inspect and admire the weapon.

Just then another enters the mutilated portal. A Centurian , he too reacts in similar fashion as the Terran. Blinking his eyes back into focus.

“Ober-Commander, what is your will to be done’, the Centurian asks the Terran.

“Well captain, get the Confederation engineers to pack up everything in this compound, then take a few to the ship and set everything up, later the Confed commander and his right hand men are going to have a nice chat with us. While that is being done, Red Wolf and I will go with the Mother Confessor and retrieve the natives. You are more than welcome to tag along if you like. One more thing if possible, outside of our prisoners, chain up the rest of the Confederation troops and have them outside the city,” the Terran orders the Centurian soldier.

“Yes, Commander”, he replies as he leaves.

The one called the Ober-Commander comes back to me and replaces the sword. For an odd reason this excites my nerves a bit.

“Shall we”, He addresses me and gestures to the scarred hatchway. Feeling more at ease with him, I comply with his invitation.

Marckus:

Glad to be getting affairs squared away. Red Wolf accompanies the Mother Confessor and I to one of the drop ships. Rhino and Graxis are further up, heading to the other drop ship with the Confederation commander. Barely audible insults and empty threats can be heard from the disgraced officer. The moments pass between the three of us in silence. Then a short time later the Confederation officer goes silent. I see that Rhino and Graxis have had enough of the officers shit. Now dangling limply over Rhino’s shoulder in unconsciousness. I smile to myself at the sight of this. A small chuckle escapes Red Wolf. The Mother Confessor shows no regard, in light of our amusement. Now all we need is a scout vehicle from the drop ship.

Graxis:

I thought for sure that Rhino would have knocked the Confederation Soldiers head right off. I assume he was just as annoyed as I at the captive commander. The rest of our trek we do our best to not unleash an outburst of laughter once our prisoner went silent. Though later we will share our lack of sentiment with his thinly veiled threats once the Ober-Commander and party are back onboard the ship. Hopefully we will not have to wait to long for this opportunity.

Marckus:

With Red Wolf watching our tail in the cruiser. The engine and the air make communication damn near impossible. So in silence we travel to where the natives have fled, as instructed by the Mother Confessor. As I guide the cruiser across this barren planet, with nothing but the light of the heavens to contrast the dull rocky terrain. We pass by few outlying structures simplistic in design, but no idea what their purpose is. I glance over my shoulder at Red Wolf, and the black cloud following in tow. She signals that all is clear. Good. Pushing the cruiser to it’s limits. I do not want to put off getting whatever the Confederation commander is withholding.

Switching to infrared once the massive crater comes into view. How could there be anything in it when there are no heat signatures. Slowing to a halt at the edge and peering in to the gaping earth. Still no signs of life. Turning off the infrared and switching on the cruisers search light, and aiming it into the deeper darkness. Red Wolf lets out a gasp, no doubt in surprise at the sight of the indigenous people. Standing up beside me the Mother Confessor addresses the natives. It is very grating on the ears as she does. A loud grating comes in response. A few minutes pass by in silence. What looks like an internal view of highly evolved ants in a colony writhes in the crater. Soon an elder as best I can surmise, rises from the lip of the carapace. He stops short at the sight of Red Wolf and I. I suppose we are the first Terrans he has ever seen. He takes a few quizzical looks at us, before addressing the Mother Confessor. The grating continues for several seconds. What follows is almost as deafening as an explosion next to your head. A high pitched grating covers the massive expanse of the crater. Shortly there is a frenzy of the creatures scrambling to the surface. Some carrying their young ones on their backs in slings. There were gratings at intervals in them. According to the Mother Confessor when I ask what they were saying, she says that they were expressing their gratitude to their benevolent god in protecting them in their time of need. This is rather interesting to me.Maneuvering the cruiser back in the direction we came, keeping a modest pace with the natives.

Approximately four hours later we reach the city outskirts. Just as I had requested, Human and Greys alike all bound in slave fashion. Their freighter locked and pass code changed. Bringing the cruiser to a halt before one of the cargo bay doors, I put in a call for the pass code for the freighter. With the Confederation slaves facing away from the freighter, I enter the code. Next I ask for an inventory of the ship. Moments pass as each article is counted out. Seems that the rations were left behind, not that I blame them. They are awful in long stretches of space flight. After concluding a quick walkthrough of the cargo bay, I grab an assault rifle near the bay door.

The Natives have gathered around at this point. I summon the Mother Confessor to my side. Acting as an interpreter for me as I address them.

“To the people of this dark world”, I shout, and wait for the translation.

Continuing,” I give you those responsible for destroying parts of your great city”, again waiting for the translation.

“You shall have them as slaves, use them to repair the damages and whatever else you need help with!” a moment passes in conversion of language.

Raising the rifle high in the air, “If you deem it necessary this will help keep them in line!” a few more moments lost in translation.

Turning to the Mother Confessor, “Do you know how to write their language”, I ask her.

She nods, so I hand her a small notepad from my breast pocket of the coat along with a pen. Then I dictate the instructions on how the rifle works, as well as the pass code to the freighter. Along with instruction to use it as they see fit. Motioning one of them to come forward. I show the native the working parts of the weapon. I start by dropping the magazine, then slapping it back in. Showing it where the trigger and safety switch are. Showing it the difference when the safety is on, and so forth from semi and full auto. Following it with how to arm the rifle. Showing it by sliding the bolt back. Holding it open a moment to show the top rounds in the magazine. Guiding it slowly allowing it to see how the mechanics work in chambering a round. Switching to semi auto, I show it the trigger and take aim at a rock no more than fifteen paces from us in a safe direction. Squeezing the trigger, and the loud explosion of the spent round catches it by surprise. The casing plinks off the ground about a meter away, and the rock shatters at the top. Following this, I put the weapon on full auto. Releasing about twenty more rounds into the rock. The brass casings fly freely to their mate. The rock considerably destroyed. Turning back, showing the switch in safe. Then turning back to the rock and firing. Then pointing it at one of the chained up Confederation soldiers, and firing again. The native seems to think that it should have surly killed the captive man. Dropping the magazine again, I pull the slide back and clear the chamber of the round. Thankfully I caught the round before it was lost in mid flight. Showing the magazine to the native, I conclude by displaying how to reload it. Sliding the shell back into place amongst the others. Finalizing the demonstration. Slapping the magazine back in the rifle and pulling the bolt back, this time letting the bolt chamber the round on it’s own. Instructing the Mother Confessor to explain that she has written all of these things down for them to learn, so they can handle the weapons properly. The loud grating of translation goes on for a few minutes. After which she hands the note pad to an elder to examine, along with the pass code and entitlement to the freighter. After giving the pages a quick scan he bows to us in acknowledgement and belts out some kind of elated grates. I want to get out of here before anything bad happens. Bowing to the Elder I relinquish the rifle to him. The Mother Confessor, Red Wolf and I double time it to the drop ship collecting us on the scouting cruiser.

Graxis:

Watching from the cruiser bay as they make their approach, with Rhino. We got to see an odd display from a safe distance, as the Ober-Commander demonstrated to the odd looking natives on how to work a Terran assault rifle ,and hand it over to the native.

“Is he mad”, I ask Rhino.

In a baritone voice he half laughs his response,” No Graxis, but I am sure the Confeds think so.”

What I witness through the dark haze of the cruiser is simply intriguing. The natives swarm into the open cargo bay, while others prompt the captives to their feet. Now I have seen something I thought I never would have. Terrans enslaved by another species. Unable to stop my amusement at this, I cannot hold my composure. We stand laughing hysterically as the cruiser clears the bay doors.

The Ober-Commander, Red Wolf, and the Mother Confessor look at us as the drop ship departs the landing zone and the bay doors seal.

In between chuckles Rhino asks, “So what did you do with the Confed”, tears streaming down his face. The Ober-Commander dismounting the cruiser and hands me the short sword.

He answers with a chuckle of his own,” Just handed them over to the natives as slaves, though for them it is not much of a stretch!”

Now all of us but the Mother Confessor are doubled over in pains of laughter. This continues all the way back to the ship. This uproar of jovialness plagues us all the way back to the battle ship. The Mother Confessor in contrast remains silent on the short trip.