After our meeting, Matthias informed me that he would start the process of tracking down my crew. He said it might take a couple of days to sort through the rumors and decipher where each one was. As he found them, he informed me that it would be up to me to liberate them; he would provide a small team for support that I would lead for each extraction.
It had now been a day since our meeting and agreement, and I was to meet my support team today. I left my quarters and headed down a long hallway toward a central courtyard. Matthias wasn’t bluffing, he was wildly wealthy and spared no expense on this place. While the facility was furnished with garish, expensive furniture and gave the impression that it was just another mansion built to satisfy the needs of its narcissistic owner, in reality, it was a secure compound built to protect its owner’s secrets. There were complex security features in the compound and round-the-clock security on patrol. While the top floor was merely living space and sometimes used to entertain the wealthy and elite of Bouterien, the real complex was located underground, away from prying eyes.
I walked into the courtyard to see five battle-hardened soldiers standing at attention. The force consisted of five men who looked to be of the same species as Matthias. As I approached, I noticed Kindo and Brock among the ranks.
“Fellas,” I nodded at the two men. “I never got the chance to ask, what species are you guys?”
Kindo stepped forward, “No harm there, boy, we be Bouterien. The city here is named fer us. Or maybe it’s tha other way ‘round. Not real sure tell the truth. You can pick us out easy on account of our ears here,” Kindo flicked one of his ears and smiled. “I wouldn’t make a habit outta trying to flick a Bouterien’s ear, though; that’s liable to get you cut, even if you are a chaff.” Kindo turned and chuckled at the rest of the group.
“What is a chaff?” I asked, not sure if my translator was working correctly.
Kindo walked up and put his hand on my shoulder, “A chaff is you and you be a chaff, boy. Those of us who have been in a reaping dungeon and lived be chaff’s. The leftovers after the Council took what it came fer. Tossed aside and left to our own devices,” Kindo wrapped his arm around my neck and walked me toward the rest of the group as he talked. “Big mistake, that. Letting us keep on living even though we got all this power now. The Council throws us in there to fight, gives us a heap of upgrades, then when the fightin is over and they got what they want we just go home. Problem is, some of us like the fightin, some of us even find ways to keep on fightin. That is what you got here, boy. All us, including you are chaff. I have a feeling we gonna rain hell on whoever we are goin up against.”
“That is the plan, Kindo,” I looked at the three new faces, “Mind introducing me to the rest of the squad?”
“Yer the boss. You already know Brock,” Kindo pointed at the giant man who was still dressed in black military fatigues, his large knife in its sheath. “Brock has the Boulder class. It is basically a brawler class that focuses on melee combat and has health for days,” Kindo turned and smiled at me, “Brock, give the boy here a little taste of what you have to offer our little ragtag group.”
Brock grunted and nodded before walking up to a large stone column in the center of the courtyard. He took a wide stance, dropped his hands to his sides, and flexed his overly large muscles as he began to glow slightly white around the edges. Without warning, he headbutted the column, and it shattered.
“Alright, he is a tank. Got it,” I said with a whistle. Kindo looked at me, “What you goin on about? He is a Bouterien, didn’t ya hear me, boy?”
I shrugged, “Forget it, it’s a term from my planet. It means he can deal a lot of damage and absorb a lot in return.” Kindo narrowed his eyes at me in response, “Yer kinda strange, ya know that, right?”
I chuckled, “Imagine how I feel. Let’s see the rest of the group.” Kindo walked up to a tall, thin man with dangling muscular arms. This man had buzzed black hair and wore fatigues similar to Brock’s, but the arms were cut off. He was currently smoking a stinger and flicking a small blade up and catching it. “This is Dan. Dan had an assassin class that is focused on stealth and poison. He had a whole slew of them daggers, and I warn you not to get poked by one. He is a decent fella, cept fer the likin to kill people slow thing. It can really get weird; he says he likes to look in their eyes while they go, but damn, the man is an artist with those daggers. Dan, give the boy a taste.
“Hang on!” I held my hands out before Dan could move, “Your name is…Dan? Seriously?” Dan cocked his head in response to my question, “You have a problem with my name? It not good enough for you, Human?”
I felt a bit of anger start to rise at being called Human. I could tell that most species looked down on humans, and calling me human instead of using my name was definitely an insult. I decided to let it slide; I needed this squad If I had any hope of rescuing my crew. “No, no offense but that is a pretty common name where I come from. I just didn’t expect it is all.” Kindo stepped up beside me, “You realize that a good portion of your language and history were planted by alien races, right? Different species have been visiting your little planet for thousands of years. You gonna see a lot more familiar than you would expect.”
Dan stepped out and paced off about 25 yards in front of me. He silently turned, pulled two daggers, and held them in one hand by the points. He smiled before throwing the daggers directly at my head. I hadn’t expected this and did not react in time as the daggers flew through the air. A second before they made contact, an arm reached from behind my head and plucked them from the air. It was Dan; he had somehow teleported behind me and caught his own daggers. He chuckled from behind me as he held the daggers, “Don’t piss yourself; I don’t love my name anyhow,to tell the truth.” He stowed the daggers and nudged me in the shoulder. “We are here because we hate the Council as much as you. We are gonna have your back out there, and we expect the same from you, fair?” Dan stuck out a hand to shake. I grabbed his hand and shook, exhaling a nervous breath as I did. “Fair enough, Dan. Fair enough.”
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“Dan, if yer done showin yer ass go open up the VCR so we can get some training in after I introduce everyone else to the boy here.” Kindo said, flicking a finger at Dan, “Brock, go give him a hand. We need to run some team simulations and knock the rust off yer asses.” Brock grunted and nodded before following Dan, who was now picking his teeth with one of his daggers.
Kindo turned to face the two remaining squad members, “This is Cree, he is a small arms expert and has a War Fighter class. Basically, he is an asset on any battlefield and can gain proficiency with just about any weapon he puts his hands on. I’d have him give you an example, but Matthias is prolly already gonna rip my ass for having Brock break that column. Lastly, we have our healer. This here is Bokbok. He is a chaff like the rest of us, just a little more valuable than most. I’m sure you noticed there ain’t exactly an abundance of healers running around. Bokbok here is one of a handful in our benefactor’s employ. He is good at what he does, and he will make sure the squad stays combat-effective. No need to show off what he does, you’ll know it when you see it. He don’t talk much, even less than Brock so don’t go spectin he’ll naw yer ear off anytime soon,” Kindo chuckled and slapped Bokbok on the shoulder. Bokbok rocked forward with an agitated shake of his head and walked off to join the rest of the squad in the VCR.
I looked around the peaceful courtyard, taking in the tranquility of the place, knowing full well we would soon below training and drilling, preparing to efficiently and violently kill anyone and anything that stood between me and my crew. “So, what about you, Kindo? I’m guessing you are chaff as well, what is your class?” Kindo walked toward me slowly, smiling wryly. “Damn right, I’m chaff. Damn proud of it, to boot. I got initiated nearly 50 years ago now. I was just a down-on-my-luck thug; only choice I had was to die young for nothing or get stronger,” Kindo looked down, peering into memories that stretched farther than the time I had been alive. “I done a lot of foul shit, boy. Once I met my reaping quota, I took a pension and fell back into my old habits. The drink didn’t help matters. Bottom of a bottle is a lonely place, lonely cept fer the memories of all the terrible shit I done. After I drank myself into squalor I decided I had enough of those memories, those ghosts that haunted me day and night. One night, after I spent my last credit and finished the last drop of some cheap swill, I walked out into the alley behind the bar and decided to end it. My last meal was gonna be a plasma round,” Kindo chuckled regretfully, “At least it would have been a hot meal. I stood in that dark, damp alley with the barrel of that plasma pistol in my mouth but right before I pulled the trigger, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Then I heard a voice; it was calm and steady and wasn’t phased at all by the sight of me about to release my brain from the bonds of my skull. It was Matthias; he told me there were other ways to get back at the Council for what they made me do, but a dead man had no value,” Matthias looked up at me, clear eyes full of purpose, “haven’t touched a bottle since. I’m still doing bad shit, but now I get to do it to the bastards that caused all this pain. I figure we might get killed helping you, boy,” Matthias chuckled and shook his head, “But I’ll be damned if I ain’t gonna go out with a bang.” The grizzled man looked at me, smiled and walked forward. his body blurred slightly and he passed directly through my body, leaving me breathless and chilled. He kept walking toward the VCR and looked back over his shoulder, “My class is War Wraith.”
It took me a couple of seconds to catch my breath. Once I had my wits about me, I stared toward the squad that had disappeared into the subterranean training area. I was starting to feel like I might actually get my friends back, I might actually be able to injure the Council. Most of all, I was realizing that it wasn’t humanity against the galaxy; there were people out there who felt the same way we did. If it was possible to unite them under one banner, We could shake the foundation of the galaxy.
“Mr. Dawes,” Matthias walked out of the complex, looking as dapper as ever. Another finely tailored suit, this one maroon and shimmering, with a grey shirt and vest. “Do you approve of the assets I have provided? I do believe they will be of some assistance in your upcoming endeavors.”
I shook my head in response, “Yeah, I think they will do fine. I appreciate this, Matthias, more than you know.” Mattias slid one hand into his jacket, pulling out his ornate stinger case. “While I do appreciate your words, I must remind you that I am not doing this for charity, Mr. Dawes. We have a deal, I see you as a valuable ally and possibly the most powerful asset in our growing arsenal. But enough about that. I came to let you know I located the first member of your crew, Red, I believe is how you refer to him. I fear you will need to forgo today’s training and move directly to extract him.”
I nodded, but Mattias could see the trepidation on my face. “I don’t know if we are ready for a battle yet. We have no idea how to work together. Is there really no time?”
Matthias grinned, “Fear not, Mr. Dawes. Red has been located in a brothel in the south ward of the city. He is in no immediate danger but if the Council security force becomes aware of a human spending large amounts of credits in the city, they will move on him,” Matthias walked forward and clasped my arm, staring confidently into my eyes. “Go get your friend, Mr. Dawes.”