Mike scratched the skin surrounding the link currently fused to his temple. The damned thing itched terribly, and served as a constant reminder of what he’d gotten himself into.
Since joining the 39th Search and Clear team as a ‘rehabilitative recruit’, Mike had finally gotten a chance to see how the criminal element of Dorchester lived. Though, it wasn’t like he’d never had scrapes with the wrong side of the law before, it had just never been to this extent. Before this, the worst he’d ever had to do was a year of community service acting as a sewer clearer, and that was only because he and a few of his friends had gotten drunk and accidentally destroyed a building during a bar-fight. Now though, he was a convicted criminal, surrounded by hard-cases and malcontents.
Looking over to his left, he saw a burly man with dead eyes calmly staring forward as if nothing going on around him really mattered. Mike grimaced at the sight of the man’s unconventional link glowing in his temple, it took up almost the entire side of the poor man’s head. ‘I’m not sure I even want to know what he did to earn a fully implanted link,’ he told himself.
Once again, he scratched the skin around his link, not liking the fact that he was only just one step away from the same fate. It wasn’t like he didn’t understand why they fused his link, but that didn’t mean he was at peace with it. But what did he expect, were they really going to let a convicted criminal currently serving out his sentence head outside the walls without ensuring that he would be forced to return after the mission?
He came out of his musings when he saw his unit’s Captain take the podium at the front of the plaza.
Captain Druza seemed like an alright guy to Mike. The man was tall, well built, and everything that Mike expected a Captain in the army to be. Every time they’d interacted, the captain was professional and didn’t seem to harbor any resentment for leading a group of criminals and low-lives. As far as Mike was concerned, he and the captain shared the common trait of just wanting to put in their time, and then move on.
The captain looked out over the assembled men and women of S&C39 and said, “I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that from here on out, your time in this unit counts for double from what you were being paid before. The bad news is that our mission has been changed. While we were initially going to be just providing relief to a survey team out in the wilds, we’re new being retasked to aid in rebuffing an actual incursion from the kobalds. Even worse, we’re going to be meeting them in the wilds outside the walls.”
The 500 strong unit of troops started muttering their surprise and unhappiness with what they were hearing. It was understandable, as the idea of directly confronting an invading force outside the walls seemed idiotic when they could be just as easily be fighting with the aid of the well-proven defenses.
The captain nodded, apparently expecting the discontent his words would cause. “I understand your concerns, and I raised them myself. However, Dorchester command decided that it isn’t the time to abandon the exterior city and they aren’t willing to let the kobalds have free reign outside the walls. So, along with many other units, we’ll be heading outside the walls to cull their numbers until they have no choice but to scurry back under the mountain and wait for us to finish wiping them out.”
There were a few chuckles at the captain’s jape, and Mike could see that most people were accepting of the captain’s inability to change their circumstances. It didn’t come as a surprise to anyone here that the people in charge make the decisions, and everyone else is responsible for figuring out the best way to survive carrying them out.
Captain Druza continued, “Now those of you who are only here on temporary assignment are going to have to get used to living with a fused-link. It’s a regrettable fact that with how bad the essence has gotten outside the walls, there is no other way for us to keep track of you. As it is arguably an unregulated abuse of power, feel free to lodge a complaint with Tower of Law and see if you can swing some kind of compensation for the inconvenience. Maybe they’ll knock a few years of your sentence, I have no idea. That being said, I don’t want to hear any complaints about it, because it has very little to do with me. I’m only concerned about using your talents to get our job done, while making sure as many of you live to see the end of your term as I can. Regardless of your past, you are all citizens of Dorchester, and I know each and every one of you is capable of growing into a champion of humanity if you are willing to put in the effort.”
Mike smirked at the captain’s tacky pep-talk. He was well aware of the doctrine the rehabilitation programs used, that every opportunity to reform and encourage should be taken advantage of. But, he still thought it was amusing to see the ever-serious captain being so bad at it. It wasn’t the first time Mike had seen the captain try and inject some lesson into an otherwise normal briefing, and every single time it had been obvious to the point of being insulting. ‘Subtle’ the man was not.
“Now, as we don’t have a lot of time until we move out. Make sure to stop by requisitions and get your gear. We meet back here in one hour, and then we join up with the rest of the assault force outside Gate 22 immediately after. That will be all, you’re dismissed,” he said, then stepped down from the podium.
Mike scratched his temple and thought to himself, ‘Looks like I’m heading back to the wilds after all. At least it’s better than heading underground, this way I still get to see the sun.’
-----
After stepping out of his tent, Nero was letting himself be led by Nick over to 0the command area. It had only been a few hours, and he was surprised to see the cave had been transformed into a well lit, organized, fully-established camp. There were now pillars interspersed throughout the cave holding up the ceiling and providing anchors for essence lights. The walls had been smoothed out, and the cave entrance now had fall back positions with walls and raised platforms turning it into a kill-box. Even the command area had been considerably upgraded.
Nero walked down a few steps into a circular depression where a stone table had been raised. The same sergeants from before were now sitting around as Captain Angelton leaned over some maps pointing at something while giving out orders. Compared to the folding-table they were using before, the current scene was much more professional and Nero was having trouble with how quickly everything had changed. ‘Just how long was I sleeping?’ he wondered.
The captain looked up and almost smiled. “Lord Walker, you’re here. Good,” he said, very nearly sounding pleased.
Nero felt his skin crawl at seeing the normally serious captain acting so out of character. He looked around the table and saw the sergeants all smiling at him. The reception was so odd, that he wondered what they were going to ask him to do. No one was this happy to see someone without having an ulterior motive.
Frowning, Nero walked up to the table and said curtly, “OK. Cut the act, what do you want?”
The captain’s very small smile faded as if it had never been there, and he replied, “I thought Verena would have told you? Although it is not official yet, I have every confidence that you will be raised to the status of a unique citizen of Oglivarch. Congratulations are in order, and I am proud to have been there at the beginning of your path. I believe I speak for everyone here when I say that we hope you consider staying in Dorchester, and helping us through the current crises’ facing our great city.”
Nero’s frown faded into confusion, and he looked around the table to see the sergeants all looking at him with hope and respect. It was extremely weird, and he didn’t know how to respond to their completely illogical sincerity.
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Feeling a slight pat on his shoulder, Nero nearly suffered a jump-scare as Nick started talking, “Lord Walker doesn’t really understand what being a unique citizen actually means, so you’ll have to forgive him. If you look at from his perspective, he’s already a new noble, and, in his words, he doesn’t expect their to be much of a difference. For now, let’s all try and treat him as a comrade, and then go from there.”
Captain Angelton nodded along with all the sergeants, everyone seeming to take something different away from what Nick had just said.
Nero looked up at his friend, curious as to what he was implying. Nick just smiled down at Nero, shaking his head as if it weren’t important.
Shrugging, Nero, as usual, decided that he didn’t care enough to press the issue and find out. Instead, he changed the subject by asking, “Okay, so what’s the plan now? Are we going to acting as a harassing force behind the kobald lines?”
Captain Angelton gave Nero a slight look of surprise, and replied, “We will. However, you’ve been recalled to Dorchester. You’re team will be circling around to the North, and they will be escorting you so that you can meet up with an extraction force which will get you back behind the walls, safe and sound. After that, I’m afraid I don’t know what the general and the council will ask of you. But please consider that all of Dorchester could use your help. You can do great things here, and I hope you consider staying.”
Nero felt a little shocked at how different the captain was acting. There seemed to a complete shift in the man’s tone from what he’d gotten used to.
Choosing his words carefully, Nero replied, “All right, I’ll keep what you said in mind. When will we be heading out?”
Captain Angelton raised his hand, gesturing off to the side. Nero saw Sergeant Wesker stepping forward, a serious look on his face. He said, “We’re ready to go when you are, Lord Walker. Take your time getting ready.”
That clinched it, something was very off about the situation. Nero looked up at Nick with pleading eyes, nearly begging the man to explain what the hell was going on.
Chuckling, Nick replied for Nero, “Lord Walker will be ready shortly. Please prepare the rest of the team, and he’ll be along after he collects his tent and gear.”
Sergeant Wesker replied simply, “Very well, we’ll be ready.”
Nero allowed himself to be led away, while looking back over his shoulder in confusion at the command staff watching him leave, all of them unabashedly smiling as if they were sucking up to a superior.
Turning around, he locked eyes with Nick and hissed, “What the fuck, man? What the hell was that? Have they been possessed or replaced by pod-people or something?”
Nick continued to lead Nero through the cave, back to his tent. Sighing, he said, “Nero, you have to try and understand their point of view. Remember when you were raised to nobility and you asked me why everyone at the center was staring at you?”
Nero nodded, and replied, “Yeah. So, it’s like a celebrity thing? It’ll die down once the novelty wears off?”
Nick shook his head, and said, “No, Nero. This is entirely different. When you were raised from a commoner to a noble, that was something people could be envious of. But becoming a unique? That’s something altogether different. Provided it is actually approved, and I can’t see how it won’t be, you’re new status puts you outside the regular social structure. So much so that cities will actively try and recruit you. While noble houses are restricted to their home cities, and their expansion strictly regulated, a unique is allowed to go wherever they want in Oglivarch. For that reason and more, they are two completely different things.”
Nero was stunned. He tried to figure out how to compare it to something he’d recognize, but he was having trouble trying to find an Earth equivalent. The closest thing he could think of was the various levels of celebrity back home. There was the local hero who was celebrated, but treated with envy. Then there was the larger local celebrity, like the news anchor, who people were happy to recognize. But then there was the famous people that were turned into fantasies by the majority of people. No one was jealous of the A-list actor, instead it was more like hero-worship.
Nero, from the corner of his eye, could see the same men and women he’d been fighting alongside the day before were now looking at him with goofy smiles and an underlying sense of ‘awe’. Considering that just about everyone here could probably kick his ass, it was extremely disconcerting.
Nick seemed to be amused by Nero’s response to his new-found celebrity.
Nero quickly packed up his tent and supplies, eager to get away from all the uncomfortable staring. Before long, he was reunited with Rose, Cathleen, and Wesker near the front of the cave.
While the sergeant was now showing the same signs of hero-worship that the rest of elites were displaying, Rose and Cathleen didn’t seem to be acting all that different than normal. As he approached, Nero offered the ladies a smile in thanks for treating him the same as always, but his happiness wilted when they greeted him.
Rose was the first speak, “Lord Walker. Congratulations on having your talents acknowledged. I knew from the first time I saw you that there was something special about you. If you need anything, anything at all, please don’t hesitate to ask.”
Wesker stood right next to her, nodding along like an idiot. Nero couldn’t help but notice the man had apparently chosen to forget any animosity he’d been harboring for all the times Nero had screwed with him.
Yet, Cathleen was the worst. She looked over at Nick with her typical stare that hovered somewhere between a feral grin and an uninterested dismissal of everyone around her, while saying with a bit of a bite, “I told you he was an unprecedented talent. Perhaps next time, as a researcher, you’ll think twice before dismissing an opinion from a warrior with experience in things you know nothing about.”
Nero looked up at Nick, seeing the man’s smile twist into a grimace at the rebuke.
Nick coughed into his hand and replied, “Yes, well, I apologize for not taking your remarks about Lord Walker’s potential seriously. I agreed with you that he was special, I just didn’t realize how much. But that’s in the past. Now, we have a job to do.”
Sergeant Wesker stepped up, eager to put in his two valens. “That’s right. We have to get him back to Dorchester immediately. We can’t have him out here under the threat of the kobalds. It’s imperative that he be protected.”
Nero’s jaw dropped. Where was the man who had been quietly plotting his death? The man who used to be a son-of-a-bitch constantly finding ways to criticize him was now standing there like a bodyguard, excited to throw himself into danger for Nero’s well-being.
The entire situation was out of control, and Nero felt the urge to start slapping the shit out of people in order to get them to knock it the hell off.
But instead, cooler heads prevailed, and he allowed them to do whatever it was they were going to do. All he could do was assume they had some sort of plan for getting past the kobald’s scouts. After all, it wasn’t like the front of the cave wasn’t currently being watched.
Yet no amount of mental preparation could have prepared him for what happened next. Apparently, their brilliant plan for sneaking Nero out of the area was to have two 20 man assault teams storm the kobald encampments to distract the enemy while Nero and his team ran away.
Looking over his shoulder, Nero saw the shouting elites ripping apart what few defenses the kobalds had managed to set up, tearing through them like mad-men intent on causing as much destruction as they could, in as little time as possible.
As he and his team made their way around the mountain, and the sounds of fighting began dying down, Nero asked loudly, “So, if I’m understanding this correctly, being categorized as a unique citizen is kind of a big deal, right?”
Nick looked over at Nero with a smile and replied, “I tried telling you, but as usual, you only hear what you want to hear.”
Nero nodded, accepting Nicks rebuke for once. The man had said that it was entirely different than being a noble. In a way, it made sense. Dorchester had a lot of nobles, but he was the only ‘unique’.
‘Well, I always knew I was awesome. Maybe I’ll get a certificate or something to prove it. I can hang it on my wall so that people will know that I’m important. Hopefully people will be more impressed with it than my award for winning that flippy-cup tournament back in college. Not to mention the ceremonial beer mug I got to take home. I wonder if this time I’ll get a medal, or maybe a t-shirt. It better not be a sash though,’ he thought to himself, as he lost himself in the hazy memory of defeating the girls volleyball team in the flippy-cup finals.