Jeti: Spared

Jeti woke up with the insistent shaking of a firm hand. His vision was as blurry for some seconds but when it cleared, he stared at the worried face of Lonsoh. Then the pains came, first, at the back of his head, then along his spine and left elbow. He realized he was lying down, but on the base floor.

"Jeti." Lonsoh whispered.

He tried to rise from his lying position but couldn't, not because of the pains but because he was crowded, surrounded by Xentan troopers who were all kneeling. Even Lonsoh was kneeling.

"What happened?" He groaned in between.

"We had to surrender. We couldn't hold back anymore. I saw you lying down unconscious around the refectory block and dragged you here. I had thought you were dead." Lonsoh told him. The first part of this information surprised him.

"We lost? How? What happened to the reinforcements from Kosh?" He asked hopefully.

"They never came. When the Cheiftain discovered that it was Commander Sarah who was assaulting the base, he held back their forces and locked down the city, claiming it was useless deploying them, when they should be needed to defend the city." Lonsoh told him.

I hope Sorah burns them alive, Jeti thought angrily.

"Keron Prebs surrendered when this reply from Kosh arrived, in order not to risk any more lives. All those troopers died for nothing. Krak died for nothing." He said gravely.

"Keron Prebs is still alive?" Jeti struggled to get on his knees.

"Yes, he's kneeling at the forefront. " Lonsoh aided his efforts and he finally got into a kneeling position.

"How many of us are left?" He craned to see the front row. There were Crubots standing guard over them and their arms and military gauntlets were consficated and piled into a heap.

"Probably sixty or so." Lonsoh answered patiently.

"Quiet, you two. You both wish for death?" A trooper cautioned them, frustrated.

Jeti kept quiet and looked around the base. Most of the buildings were left unrazed. There were some battlewagons driving around the base, with several Crubots and Crugi troopers behind them, storming into the buildings to search for survivors. There were shuttles hovering over the base and the warship had become more visible.

"The cowards. They let their boys do all the dirty work, then they come afterwards to clean up the mess," Another trooper hissed, criticizing the Crugi troopers who were strutting around, calling out oaths and jeering.

Presently, one of the shuttles landed in front of them, blowing hot air into their faces. The hatch opened and more Crugi troopers marched out in two queues, flanking Commander Sorah and two high-ranked soldiers, who Jeti guessed were his lieutenants. As he stepped out of the shuttle, the Crubots and Crugi troopers saluted simultaneously and uniformly, their right forelimbs extended from the body and bent at the elbow, the palm opened and faced down.

Commander Sorah acknowledged their salute with his own raised arm. He moved towards the kneeling Xentans. Jeti could see the evil intent in his eyes.

"Who was in charge here?" He asked loudly.

"I am." Jeti heard Preb's voice.

"Rise" He ordered. The defeated Xentan stood up with flawless dignity. He was worn out from the fighting and Jeti could see how badly they had beaten him up.

Sorah summed him up and smiled. "You fought well, even with fewer men and less superior machinery. I need more men like you in my service. My own men could learn a thing or two from you." He looked at his lieutenants and they bowed their faces in shame.

There were rumors that some Xentan soldiers on Domeran had pledged loyalty to Commander Sorah after their defeat, in order to be spared. This was probably why his campaign on Planet Domeran was a success, with his Crubot army and the intel of defectors.

"If you think I would betray my race, my men and my planet to the likes of you, then your mother must have mated with a Myrix to birth you. I will never be a pawn in your evil conquest. I am your prisoner, nothing more. You won't interest me with your words or gifts of freedom and wealth." Prebs said with a straight face. A Xentan trooper guffawed and there was visible shock on the faces of the lieutenants behind Sorah.

It was well known amongst the Hexoni races that the Crugi house of Tevsol which Sorah hailed from, and its allied houses hated the Myrixs and wanted nothing to do with them. To call a descendant of that family a 'half-Myrix' was a grave insult to his person and house.

Jeti admired the courage of his Keron, but he felt it was unwise and not worth it. Looking around, he knew his words were a boost to the troopers' morale, but Jeti feared the consequences. It was unnecessary to slight the Crugi Commander.

Commander Sorah was silent and everyone was waiting to see his reaction. The Crugi troopers who overheard the statement had their blasters ready, waiting for a word or command.

Sorah smiled. He looked at the dark sky and muttered something inaudible.

"This means I have nothing to do with you." In a flash that Jeti could barely notice, Sorah had unholstered his laser pistol from his hip holster and shot Prebs in the forehead, right in between the eyes. There were gasps and cries from the Xentan troopers as the Keron's body fell backwards. Jeti heard a loud voice yelling and he kept wondering if that voice belonged to him. The rhetorical unasked question was answered when four Crubots descended on him, landing kicks on his back, midsection and face. Jeti heard Lonsoh screaming for them to stop as the mechanized limbs kept kicking at him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw one of them throw a jab at Lonsoh's face, hitting his temple and silencing him. The other Xentans were quiet when the Crubots left their midst, after they made sure everyone who uttered a word was writhing in pains.

"He was good. Quick in the head and sharp with his tongue. Wasn't he, Angam?" He turned to the lieutenant on his left.

"Quite sharp, Commander." Angam nodded, pleased with the outcome.

"With that being done, I'm in charge now. Lieutenant Foruk, send a message to the Emperor. The conquest of Planet Sirius has begun." Commander Sorah said looking down at the dead body of his victim. The mentioned lieutenant bowed and moved off.

"What do we do with this lot, Commander?" Lieutenant Angam asked.

There was another heavy silence as Sorah stopped to look at the kneeling captives. The Xentans waited with paused breaths, to hear the order while the Crubots and Crugi readied their weapons for a possible execution, aiming at the cowering troopers.

Jeti watched in anticipation as Sorah's gaze swept through the troopers and somehow landed on him. Jeti stared back at those eyes with an equal malicious intent, as if challenging the golden-skinned Crugi to do his worst. The seconds seemed to stretch for eternity and both captor and captive seemed locked in an invisible mental battle. Jeti began to give in, regretting his decision to look back at the Commander. He could be the first to die.

Suddenly, the Crugi smiled at him, almost with affection and looked away.

"They fought bravely. They would serve the imperial cause well if committed to the CADSA program. Send them to Planet Bazra instead." Commander Sorah ordered and glanced onceire at Jeti before moving on, flanked by Crugi troopers.

"Yes, Commander. As you wish," Lieutenant Angam affirmed and motioned to the Crugi troopers and Crubots around before turning to follow the retreating figure of the Commander.

Jeti sighed, heavily relieved with the outcome but he had a vague impression that Sorah had spared their lives because of him.

But why?, he wondered. He touched his nose and a sharp pain hit him. He felt the liquid on his fingers and raised them to look at his blood. He then checked if his nose was broken and a Xentan beside him tore away a piece of his uniform and handed it to him, to stop the bleeding.

"What's the CADSA program, Jeti? Where's Bazra? Will we be killed?" Lonsoh whispered hurriedly at him as the Crubots began rounding up and escorting the Xentans at gunpoint to several Crugi shuttles ahead.

Jeti tried to recall what he had read of the CADSA program held on Planet Bazra. It was a series of Prisoner Camps with the sole aim of training and reforming the captives to fight for the Crugi Empire. Those taken there, were said to never return to their planets. Either they died in training or they died fighting for the Crugi.

"No, Lonsoh. We will live. We will fight." He reassured the fink, before he spay out blood. One of the Crubots motioned for him to rise and began nudging him to join the queue to the shuttles. He stared at the shuttle and watched the Crugi insignia shinning brightly by the side.

He would fight. But for the Crugi.