The Syndicate's Journey

by Nicholas Bogucki

  “I can show them how to harvest resources.” Major General Reingle explained. “It’s not that hard.”

  “Well, it is good to know that you know how to Reingle, but the rest of you do not, so I will show you all how to.” Lieutenant General Armitage looked around the room as he continued to talk. “You see this little plant right here?” Lieutenant General Armitage pointed past the generals and to the nearest window to their left and saw a potted plant on an end table. The generals turned and looked at it.

  “So, say that is something, a creature or an object that you had no clue what it was. What would you do first?” asked Lieutenant General Armitage.

  “Of course, you would bring up your INH.” Major General Lokhorst stated.

  “Of course.” Lieutenant General Armitage agreed. “What’s next, though? How could I go about harvesting it and sampling it?”

  Major General Lokhorst waved her hand and opened her INH then she looked for a button to scan the object with.

  “There’s no button here to scan.” She asked, confused.

  “Well, actually, there is, but you just don’t have it yet.” Lieutenant General Armitage replied.

  “What do you mean?” Major General Lokhorst asked.

  Major General Reingle waved his hand opened his INH, and saw the button “Scan” and tapped it and pointed at the plant, and his INH emitted lasers that only the eye implants could see. These lasers moved up and down on the plant. All the generals stopped what they were doing and watched Major General Reingle scan the plant.

  “How did you scan that?” Major General Lokhorst asked.

  “I am the general of SIR, remember? I have access to it.”

  The Major Generals looked at each other confused, then they turned to Lieutenant General Armitage.

  Major General Solbrig’s eyes squinted as he asked. “What does that mean, Lieutenant?”

  “Well...” Lieutenant General Armitage started to speak. “Well... you see, you weren’t supposed to know about this, but each general has its own set of unique files to them according to their division.”

  “How come you can access it then?” Major General Brentari asked angrily. “I know you are the Lieutenant General and all, but still, where is the privacy? Where is the trust?”

  “Yeah! Why do you have files that we don’t?” Major General Brentari asked.

  Lieutenant General opened his INH and tapped a button, and instantly the Major Generals’ INH disappeared.

  “What the...What happened?” Major General Lokhorst asked, confused.

  The Major Generals tried to turn their INH on but instead looked as if they were furiously waving to one another in the air without any response back.

  “What did you do?” Major General Lokhorst asked.

  “Yeah! You locked us out! Why?” Major General Reingle asked.

  “Listen.” Lieutenant General Armitage tried to speak. “I can do more than just that, but just listen to me.”

  The Major Generals shook their heads and stood there quietly.

  “Good.” Lieutenant General Armitage opened his INH again and unlocked theirs. “There, I unlocked it. Before you open it, listen to me.”

  “Tell us how you can access it!” Major General Lokhorst yelled.

  “Alright, alright.” Lieutenant General Armitage reassured them. “Go on, go sit down on one of the beds there, and I will tell you all you need to know.”

  He motioned them to where the beds were located. One by one, they turned around, and each Major General walked to the edge of the bed and sat down and looked at him.

  “Okay, so first...yes. All Lieutenants have access to everything a Major General has.” He sounded defeated for their sake. “But that can be a good thing.”

  “How so?” Major General Brentari asked. “You could just override what we do; you don’t really need us.”

  If only she knew what General Deschner thought of them.

  “We wouldn’t, though. We have zero need to do that unless situations got out of hand or a Major turned rogue.” Lieutenant General Armitage explained. “Those were the rules.”

  “What rules?” Major General Reingle asked.

  “The rules that we abide by when we become sworn in as Lieutenants.” Lieutenant General Armitage explained. “Open up your INH except for you, Reingle.”

  Major General Reingle squinted his eyes but obeyed as he saw the other Major Generals listen to Lieutenant General Armitage.

  Lieutenant General Armitage opened his INH and pressed the button “Contacts,” then he selected Lokhorst, Zaiyah, Solbrig, Cade, and Brentari, Kasra.

  “Okay, I shouldn’t do this, but I am only doing this because I’m worried about your safety. I want to make sure you are well equipped.”

  After he selected the contacts, he then tapped on “Files,” then he scrolled down to “Scan,” and attached it, and then hit the “Send” button. In a moment, Major Generals Lokhorst, Solbrig, and Brentari all received the file on their INH that read:

  FILE RECEIVED FROM LIEUTENANT GENERAL ARMITAGE

  OPEN? YES OR NO

  DOWNLOAD? YES OR NO

  They looked at him when they saw the text on their INH

  “Go ahead, download it.” He nodded.

  They all tapped download, and, in a moment, it was done, and on their INH was the button labeled “Scan.”

  “As I was saying, you would open your INH and press the “Scan” button...” repeated Lieutenant General Armitage. “After that, you let it do its work.”

  The Major Generals followed his command and pressed the “Scan” button on their INH Lasers projected from their INH to the plant, and in a moment, an analysis popped up on his INH that had an in-depth description all about the plant. Statistics and history of its type, lifecycle, how big it will grow, what it can produce, and so on.

  “It’s that easy?” Major General Lokhorst asked.

  “Yes.” Major General Reingle agreed.

  Lieutenant General Armitage nodded. “Yes, it is. After you scanned something, it will download its data into your “Files.” Since you will be going to a new planet, well planets, in this case, to be exact, you probably will not receive any information on the creature or object other than what your INH can identify from looking at it.”

  Lieutenant General Armitage opened his INH and tapped on “Files” and scrolled down to “NEW: SNAKARDEKUS” and “NEW: VARENOK” and tapped the two files and tapped on “Send To” and selected the names of the Major Generals.

  “Look, I should not do this, but I have to... I cannot risk your lives by withholding this information.” Lieutenant General Armitage uttered. “This will give you a lot of information that you need for your mission.”

  The Major Generals curiously waved their hands, and their INH’s were closed and looked at him.

  “What do you mean, Lieutenant?” Major General Solbrig asked.

  “Everything okay?” Major General Brentari asked.

  “No, everything is not okay... after you left, I was alone with General Deschner, and he gave me these.” After he spoke, he hit “Send,” and each Major General received the files.

  FILES RECEIVED FROM LIEUTENANT GENERAL ARMITAGE

  DOWNLOAD? YES OR NO

  OPEN? YES OR NO.

  They looked at him, confused and worried.

  “Go ahead, open it.” He motioned. “Won’t do me any good withholding that.”

  They each then tapped on “Download” and then “Files” when it was done downloading. The two files were there “NEW: SNAKARDEKUS” and “NEW: VARENOK.” Each Major General tapped on the file and waved their hand furiously, looking inside of what they had just received.

  A few moments passed, and it made Lieutenant General Armitage nervous. He opened his INH and tapped the “lock” button, locking each Major General out of their INH

  “Hey! What gives?” Major General Brentari snapped.

  “Really? Again?” Major General Reingle asked.

  “Yeah! Com
e on, Lieutenant!” Major General Lokhorst shouted.

  “Open and read these when we are done here. You understand?” Lieutenant General Armitage shook his head. “I’ve said too much, and I have done much more.”

  The Major Generals looked confused at what he was telling them.

  “Just listen to me, please...” Lieutenant General Armitage pleaded with them. “Just study these notes and prepare yourselves.”

  “Okay, okay...” Major General Solbrig tried to console him. “We will.”

  Lieutenant General Armitage opened his INH and unlocked theirs once again.

  “Good, now go to your cabin before General Deschner or Lieutenant dee Veyra finds this to be suspicious.”

  “Okay... say, where is she, anyway?” Major General Lokhorst asked.

  Lieutenant General Armitage shook his head. “She wouldn’t understand. Look, just leave and remember what I told you.”

  The Major Generals nodded, and they stood up from the beds and walked to the door. Major General Reingle pressed the button, and the doors slide open, and they walked out. Major General Lokhorst was the last one, and before she walked through the threshold to the hall, she turned around to Lieutenant General Armitage.

  “Thank you, I appreciate it. I don’t know what you’ve done, but thanks.”

  He nodded to her, and she turned around and walked away, and the doors shut behind her.

  Was that the right decision in letting them know? I didn’t even read anything about Snakardekus. I’m sure they will be fine, but what if. I just don’t know if that was the right decision. Lieutenant General Armitage shook his head and walked to the door and pressed the button and walked through the doorway, and the door shut behind him. I cannot let it beat me up. I made my decision, and I am stuck with it.

  He walked through the hallways to his cabin and pressed the button to open it. When inside his room, the doors closed, and the lights turned on. He saw his bed, which was disheveled, but he enjoyed it that way. He looked around his room, overlooking his bed was a window so he could see space. Across his bed were his desk and a chair. To the right of that was right a dresser and then a door for the bathroom. He walked over to his bed and fell on it, closed his eyes, and passed out.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Snakardekus’ two moons were shining brightly in the night sky. The ground had slowly cooled, and the atmosphere was quieter than before. M’leezenah slithered on the sand while the Snargde followed her. She was leading them to an area that they could rest for the night. She stood up and began to speak.

  “What you Snargde might not realize is that by staying in the sun all day, we now have the energy for the evening.”

  She spoke as she walked back and forth in front of the group, still on all fours.

  “By harvesting the sun’s energy and being still during the day, we can then use that energy and rule the night.”

  M’leezenah turned around and walked again. How can I get these Snargde to do more things for me? She thought. I need them to fully obey and commit to me. To give themselves over to me. It is nice to have a group this size at my disposal.

  M’leezenah raised her voice and shouted at the crowd. “We all want the same thing, right? To take our rightful place as the true Snargde of Snakardekus!”

  The crowd of Snargde began to erupt with agreement followed by cheers and hisses.

  “If you do as I say and listen to me, we will be rewarded by having our rightful place.” She shouted to the crowd. “I’m in charge here, and if any of you Snargde has a problem with it, just remember what happened to the last Snargde.”

  The Snargde turned their heads to one another and recalled what had happened to the last Snargde that spoke out and voiced its opinion. The Snargde was on all fours and continued bowing their heads to her.

  M’leezenah raised her arms out and extended her fingers as she shouted. “Worship me as your leader, and I will show you right from wrong. I have shown you already that the sun will help us live.”

  Their heads were still bowed. “You may call me M’leezenah.” She declared, “I am the mother to all of you here, and you are my children.”

  She moved her arms down and began to speak once again. “Snakardekus doesn’t get much rain, but instead, dust storms happen.” She began to lecture. “Do you all know what to do when that happens?”

  Their heads looked up at her, and she took that as an affirmation. “Listen close because this will save your life, and if you are too dumb enough not to use the directions to use when the time comes, then I cannot help you.” She said. “Our bodies are not made to be touched by falling liquid. Sand is one thing, but water wounds us and can cause damage to our bodies.”

  M’leezenah turned around with her back facing them and moved her tail all the way up to show the Snargde, and she turned her head to speak to them.

  “You see my tail, the underside of it. See how it looks?”

  Underneath her tail was a series of bruises and burn marks. The color resembled a dark magenta underneath her tail.

  “This is what happens when we encounter the falling liquid. Stay away from it.” She repeated herself. “Do not touch it when it falls. It can kill you.”

  She moved her tail down and turned around to face them.

  “If you see a storm in the distance or liquid falling from the sky, use the sand to protect you,” M’leezenah explained.

  Quickly she got on all fours and started to dig into the sand; she continued to burrow down, burying herself deep into Snakardekus’ surface until it looked like she was not even there. She waited a few moments, and the Snargde began to wonder where she had gone to.

  Some walked away and tried to find her while others tried to dig in the sand but came up empty-handed. They could not find her. She burrowed upwards through the sand and popped out in the air and landed right in the middle of the group that was searching for her.

  “That is how you escape the weather. It is simple and easy.”

  The Snargde’s faces were radiating excitement.

  “It’s really quite simple. You can listen to the ground above you, so you know exactly when to come back up.”

  “Teach us!” yelled one Snargde in the crowd.

  “Yeah! Tell us how M’leezenah!” yelled another Snargde.

  She looked around her and saw the Snargde starting to become excited by what she had just shown them. She could see it in their eyes how hungry they were to learn from her. A few Snargde in the crowd started to chant her name, and as it became louder more, Snargde joined in while they held out their arms.

  “M’leezenah! M’leezenah! M’leezenah!” As she heard her name, her face changed, and she smiled widely. She moved her hands up above her head to quiet them.

  “Listen. I will only explain this once.” She spoke louder as they became silent. “If you cannot follow the commands, you will be banished from this place or carelessly killed.” They bowed down in obedience and got on all fours.

  “It is quite simple, really. Just burrow down and be still. When you feel that coolness on your body, you know you’re in the right place. You will be able to hear, feel, and sense your surroundings.” M’leezenah then got on all fours and began to burrow down into the sand about as deep as she had before. In a moment, she felt the Snargde following her every move and burrowed down into the sand. All around her started to move, and she could sense that the Snargde had followed her lead by her few instructions.

  Good. These Snargde are fast learners. Not being able to see helps one to survive. They need to use their senses other than sight if they want to survive.

  M’leezenah stayed still for a while and wanted to test the Snargde if they followed everything that she did. She needed to know what lengths that she could take the Snargde to. A few more moments passed, and she started to move. She felt the other Snargde stayed motionless.

  She then decided to burrow out of the sand and popped up and stood upon the surface on two legs as she did before. She looked aroun
d and saw that no Snargde had followed her. A moment passed, and before her eyes, she saw the sand start to move around, one Snargde burrowed out of the sand, and soon two, then the rest of them burrowed out, and all stood around her like before. She turned her head around and walked in a circle as she spoke.

  “All of you followed my orders...good.” She smirked. “There is some hope in all you Snargde.”

  The Snargde got on all fours and bowed their heads.