21 BBT, Pryatlou, Central Kalgyul Administration, frontier world with the Sulgry’s State Junta
In a small military base lost in the remoteness of a expansive desert, the routine continues as usual, with the marching steps of soldiers tembling through the floor into the rooms of the many youngsters accomodated there, until their recruitment and drafting.
“Wake up, slackers! Met up at the center in 5 minutes, or you will clean bathrooms the rest of the day!”
The usual routine.
• • •
“Now, I think everyone is here. Today is a special day, annual drafting! Everyone who is 10 years old, go to that side, where the Sr. Goadoy is. Everyone who isn’t, we’ll be running around the camp, constant rhythm everyone, no slowing down.”
Half of the group parted ways there. Every year, all 10 years olds get recruited from military bases all around the CKA and drafted far away, some to continue training, some others as cannon fodder for the ongoing conflicts with the SSJ.
Some resistance could be seen from people whose excuses left much to desire, but ultimately, the drafting went on without much more problem.
Except, the day at Pryatlou wouldn’t go as smoothly as expected.
Alarms started screeching through out the base, those same alarms that orchestrated sound for invasion drills, whoever, this time, no reassuring voice announcing the drill was present amongst the noise.
“Great! These pieces of shit are at it again! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Multiple loud explosions could be heard from the upper atmosphere, thundering down above the young soldiers.
“Get moving already!”
There was a limited time until the invaders arrived to the surface. Amongst the chaos, a young trrarrusian could reach the armoury.
“3 minutes left for expected landing!” the sirens screamed though the entire base.
Outside the windows, the reentry tails of spaceships could be seen raining down onto the surface like fire.
As the young trrarrusian exits the building together with a wave of others, alarms, and messages are communicated.
“I’m telling you, I saw the warp drive! Send a fleet behind them and get their ass!”
“Come on already, everyone!”
“I’m not even trained for this shit!”
As the light of the morning hits the eyes of the soldiers, some ships already landed down onto the surface, a few kilometres from the base.
Chaos erupts, with running soldiers both towards and away of the threat, however the base is surrounded. The young trrarrusian, as many of his age, run away with their guns in place in panic, even though there’s nowhere to run.
After some time, conflict starts between CKA and SSJ soldiers towards eastwards of the base, as the young trrarrusian hides in a shed a few hundred meters from the main building.
Tension raises, as the sound of steps and equipment can be heard entering the shed.
“Trust me, if we take route through here, they won’t even see us.”
“That’s the dumbest shit ever, but whatever. Not like it matters if they see us or not anyway.”
The steps get closer and closer to the young hidden trrarrusian, as he prepares to be caught.
Once the two SSJ soldiers walk past the crouched kid, they make eye contact, and railgun shoots travel through anything they find across their path.
The automatic railgun of the young trrarrusian moves without control in his hands like if it had life of itself, not killing more than boxes and support pillars, before being kicked out of his hands.
“Fucking kid!” the soldier curses, proceeding to grab him from his upper arms and lift him to his eye level.
“Let me go!”
“We got a coward here, huh?”
“Not much can be expected from the CKA, after all. He also got the worst aim I have ever seen.”
“I’m gonna beat you to death!”
“I would like to see you try.”
“What do we do with him?”
“I don’t think he’s useful even for taking to our bases, too old, and too bad at his job.”
“Then?”
“Let’s just get rid of him and continue forward, we don’t have much time.”
He takes out one of his swords, and puts it to the neck of the young trrarrusian, as the victim can’t do no more than to squirm in desperation.
Suddenly, the shed lights up as a rain of bullets pulverize to smothering bits of flesh the head of the bystanding soldier, and one of the bullets grazes and obliterates the face of the soldier holding the sword.
He screams in pain as he drops down the kid and stumbles behind a wall, holding his face.
“F-FUCK!”
He escapes the scene, leaving a trail of marine blue on the floor, while the cause of the gore assesses the young trrarrusian.
“What the hell are you even doing here? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Do you have injuries?”
“N-no, I’m fine.”
“Great, then let’s evacuate, I heard something about a Mother Warp Ship coming soon.”
“Evacuation?”
“This planet is absolutely lost, we are not getting it back. Get up on your feet already, we need to get running.”
The two trrarrusians started running from the scene, over a fence, and through a corridor made by soldiers, towards one of the evacuation spaceships.
“More?! Sh*t, get in fast!”
The line of soldiers kept strong even after the spaceship had taken off without them. That day, Pryatlou was lost, together with millions of soldiers.
Thousands of ships waited in high orbit, orbiting a planet to which they would never be able to return, at least not in the near future.
“So, who have I saved from his really stupid error?”
“Uh?”
“Your name.”
“Oh, Souby.”
“I’m Taulsu, great to meet you.”
“What were you doing near that shed?”
“Uhh… Well, don’t tell anyone, but I tried escaping recruitment.”
“Wait, really?!”
“Shh! Whatever, I have learnt from my error with this invasion, they recruit us for a reason.”
Silence creeped in for a few seconds.
“… It’s lost…”
“Don’t think we could have done much more,” he replies, getting away from the window, “but we can get it back. And much more.”
Souby was confused by his words. Since that day, they would become inseparable.