Song of Blu

by J A Ebonlight

  My nerves vanished, and I threw myself into battle before they returned. A dozen warloons targeted me, but they couldn’t compare to my speed and accuracy. I wouldn’t have engaged with many Warloons if I didn’t have to in the olden days. But now, with my augmentations, cybernetic implants, equipment, and training, I was high on confidence. With one blade swing, I carved through two Warloon’s torsos. My fist caved in skulls and chests with one blow. Rarely did I need to stop to catch my breath. My stable breathing made me feel like I was just taking a brisk walk, but I was a hurricane of death, tearing through a dozen Warloons in a little over a minute.

  Stunned at my combat abilities, I glanced at my company to find them struggling. Instead of killing them, they tried to restrain them, only Jerry spilled any blood. They were what my gang would call unblooded. I noticed Alicia smacked one in the head with the hilt of her cleaver. He fell back to the ground.

  “Alicia, kill him,” I ordered. She looked at me as if I had insulted her. She then closed her eyes as the Warloon came again. My heart dropped, and I rushed to her, but I wouldn’t make it in time. “Think of him as someone who hurt you!” I yelled. That’s what made killing easy to me. I just pictured my enemies as one of the many who tortured me.

  Alicia came alive with that phrase and snapped her eyes open. She swung the blade across the man’s neck, and blood gushed on her.

  I glanced over to many of my people who started following Alicia’s example. They would all have their first taste of blood today. My company was blooded. Shooting people from afar isn’t the same as slashing their flesh from up close. If they could do this, I wouldn’t have problems with them killing enemies.

  When it was over, I had some scorning to do to my Squad Leaders. I rallied them. All had gone pale. Mortified by the experience. I’ve killed so many people as a youngling that I developed an immunity. Growing up in a gang didn’t allow time to have a conscience. Showing weakness met worse placement in the gang.

  “I’m glad you all survived, but you need to work on…well, everything,” I said.

  “Are you kidding me?!” Jen snapped.

  “Yeah, this is the first time killing our own kind for some of us,” Darryl said.

  “I signed up to kill aliens, not my own fellow men. This isn’t what a Vindicator would have done.” Gary said.

  “I can’t believe I killed an actual person… I thought marines only fought aliens.” Maria mumbled while staring at her shaking blood-soaked hands. I had seen her kill. She was toppled to the ground by a Warloon. Out of fear, she gouged the Warloon’s eyes out until he rolled off her, then she took her service knife to stab him several times in the chest in a survival rage.

  I wanted to tell them more about Warloons and how they were far gone from people. However, that would reveal my gang origins. Then Jerry stepped forward.

  “Oh, stop,” Jerry said. “Those were Warloons,” Everyone squinted at him.

  “They aren’t humans anymore, is what he’s trying to say,” Justin added. That made me raise my eyebrows. Like Jerry, I noticed he had little difficulty killing them.

  “Why, because they were crazy? That isn’t fair—"

  “No! You don’t understand. gangs call these guys warloons. They pump people full with aggressive drugs until it messes up their brains real bad.” Jerry said.

  “What Jerry is trying to say is that the drugs they pump these guys cause brain deterioration to the point where they only think about breeding and killing. They are no different than animals. gangs like to stockpile them and throw them at their enemies. Killing these guys is a mercy. See these.” Justin said, grabbing a collar of a dead Warloon. The collar was stabbed into their neck. “These collars help them distinguish friend from foe by shocking them if they go near one of the gangs. These guys are in constant pain. Looks like no matter what world we’re on, all gangs are the same.” Justin said, then he gave Jerry a stern glare.

  Everyone looked defeated after hearing that. I decided against giving them pointers on improving their close-range combat. There had to be about a thousand dead Warloons. I wondered who sent them here. I decided to approach the warmaster since I needed more help with my company. They were shaken from this, and I needed more experience marines on my company to keep them alive.

  I approached the warmaster, who cleaned his mace of gut and blood while sitting on a corpse pile of his making. He seemed particularly pleased with himself as he wiped his weapon. My nerves revealed themselves and caused a bit of a sweat as I approached.

  “Warmaster Noxxic!” I said, saluting with a fist to the chest. I noticed my general watching me.

  “Ah, it’s you.” Warmaster Noxxic said. I was shocked that he knew me. “The boy whose background files stink of bullshit and manage to slip through the cracks. Your general wrote a long letter to me about how he didn’t want you on his division. I didn’t read it entirely. My soap operas were on.”

  That explained why the general treated me as if I was already a problem.

  “I’ve meant to speak to you about that.”

  “Have you?” The warmaster said, rising to his feet.

  “It seems my general have stocked my company with inexperienced troops.”

  “Yeah, they seemed a bit shaken up after that last encounter.” warmaster said, staring at my company as they ate their rations.

  “Exactly, and if I don’t add more experienced marines to my company, I might risk losing them all,” I said. The warmaster looked at me plainly, and I suddenly felt small.

  “Damn. Sounds shitty. Good luck with that.” warmaster said before peeling off. I was dumbstruck for a moment, then turned on my heels and gave chase.

  “My Lord, I need your help—”

  “Ah, you got it easy, boy. Back in my day, I had to fight off an entire horde of Leones with a fork, spoon, and harsh language. And my fork broke.” warmaster said. I nearly groaned out loud. Old-timers and their exaggerations of wartime stories were one of the most common annoyances being in the military. Although I couldn’t wait until I’m old enough to tell ridiculous tales like that.

  “warmaster, they don’t deserve to suffer because of my background,” I begged. I felt pathetic, but my company was ill-prepared for war. Warmaster whirled on me, making me stop in my tracks.

  “Listen here, boy. A man must learn to play with the cards he’s dealt. Sometimes it’s a crappy hand, sometimes it’s a dream. Two things you’ll learn in this life. One: is that the universe bow to the unyielding. And two: skills, tools, and experience is only the foundation of your castle. Confidence is what keeps your castle from being swept away in the storm. Doubt—men’s greatest enemy—is your problem, son. I saw you out there fighting. You were damn amazing! Fight your doubt like you fought those bandits, and you’ll be unstoppable. Good luck, kid.” warmaster said once more before walking toward the ship, which brought him here. I was left with my thoughts, and then I focused on my doubt….

  Entry 6

  Phoenician Date: September 16, 1026AR

  Military Time: 14:45

  Phoenician Classified World: Alexandria Prime

  Finally, we were given a mission that didn’t involve building up the general’s precious fort. Although I had to admit, his fortress was impressive now. We had put in roads, erected buildings that serve various functions, repurpose many vehicles, and stockpiled supplies. It was like a small militarized city in his fort. Companies rolled in and out like clockwork.

  Still shaken from the last time they’ve spilled blood, my troops showed little eagerness. Many have puked their guts out, turned to drinking, and some suffered severe nightmares. Just as many have grown dull to it and attempted to return to their usual selves. Still, they were hesitating. I gathered my company in front of the gate to leave. I needed to rally them.

  How can you rally them when you spent your life being a pawn? I thought to myself.

  I swallowed hard and jumped on top of our vehicle hood. I had this whole plan in my head before I got up th
ere but looking down on them, that plan had vanished. My legs quake slightly, and I started to feel hot all over. I tried to remember my public speaking class and took a deep breath. I remember her words, “If you’re sinking, just sink. Don’t try to save yourself.”

  All of them were greenhorns to combat, and they stared at me, their leader. Warmaster Noxxic was correct. Skills and knowledge were just the foundation. At the end of the day, confidence is the final key to accomplishing everything in life.

  “I died once,” I admitted. “I was clinically dead for at least an hour when I was young. You know what I saw on the other side? Nothing. I did it. I knew everything. I ventured to the other side of life and found nothing. It was that moment, once I woke, that I would fight. I would fight for every second, every breath, every moment, because this is all I have. This is all that matters.

  “That carried me through my childhood. I fought, no matter how big, nor numerous, and I arose beyond it all. Now I stand before you, not just a survivor but an apex of my environment, and that’s what you must be, marines! Don't just survive, thrive! Now, what do you say to that Sixteenth company.”

  “Hoorah! Sixteenth Company.” Jerry started. Everyone in my company found their resolve and chanted. “Hoorah! Sixteenth Company!”

  We armored up and split into our personal convoys. The general only wanted us to scout an enemy rebel base a dozen miles away. An assignment so far away provided me with plenty of opportunities for experiences. One day, my company will be thrown against aliens. I’ve only fought aliens when my home planet was being invaded. They were a whole new level of scary than petty gangsters, and my people needed to be prepared. This campaign would serve that purpose.

  Our convoys stopped in the heart of the city, where mile-high buildings and abandoned vehicles surrounded us. The solar roadways glowed and kept our bus powered. Trash rode the wind across the emptied and eerily streets. I hated silence because that’s when the mind grew the loudest. We were in rebel territory now. My fellow companies had been mopping hostiles up while we were building that damn fort.

  Still, I was shocked by the lack of sentries and the city's lifelessness as a whole. Even if they were rebels, they would have a basic understanding of the need for scouts. I gave little thought to it and made my company take the rest of the way on foot. As we traveled, smoke started covering our surroundings.

  “This tactic…” Jerry said. I was also aware of our dire situation. If these men were gangsters, then this tactic would start with a….

  “Oh, a dog!” Alicia said. The beaten dog limped toward us. Alicia gasped and rushed to grab the dog along with Maria in tow.

  “No, stop!” I said, reaching to grab their arms. I yanked them back before it happened. The dog exploded, and that’s when the bullets rained down on us. “Shield bearers, ariel formation!” I yelled. The shield bearers hurried to press all the shields together and form a more massive shield over our heads. Many of my marines huddled together.

  “Heavy weapon arms, fire upward at the buildings!” Jerry yelled, reading my thoughts. A chain of fiery hot explosions tore through the buildings around us. Back in my gang days, no one had firearms, but they had arrows. This tactic started with an animal and sometimes children who had little use. That would force everyone’s guard down and end with a boom. Then they attack from a higher area and then…

  “Twelve o clock!” Someone yelled as an army of men charged with their buzzblades. I whipped out my cleaver and met them head-on. I could had used my rifle, but a blade felt more natural. I cut through three of them in minutes, blood covering my grey armor. My augmented strength allowed me to throw full-grown men with one hand, and my cleaver hacked through flesh like it was butter. After a dozen more fell to my blade, the army of gangsters lost heart. Their haunted looks triggered me, and I growled without thinking.

  How dare you look at me like that? Like your hands are clean? I thought.

  They fled, and I noticed that I singlehandedly fended off the charging warriors. I looked back to find my troops gawking at me—out of fear or admiration I didn’t know. I also didn’t care. Smoke and rubble-filled the area around us as my heart rate steadied. After a battle like that, we needed to find shelter fast to tend to our wounded. I glanced around the buildings and noticed an abandoned restaurant.

  “We go there to check and tend to the wounded,” I said.

  “Yes, sir!” All of them said.

  We jogged to the restaurants, and I began commanding squads to guard the exit. We picked up tables and stacked them against the windows. The sliding glass doors were replaced with the refrigerator unit. Out of my small company, fifteen were wounded. I couldn’t afford to lose a single marine.

  “Set them down. Who here’s specialize in medic?” I asked. Many raised their hands, mostly females. All soldiers in the Phoenician kingdom had a combat and a servitor specialization, with riflemen being everyone's primary. I was a sniper and cook, even though my recipes boiled down to beans and soup. My teacher liked my beans, though. Maria, one of my squad leaders, spoke up.

  “I will lead the medic teams.” She said. “I got top scores in my medic exam.”

  “Very good. We’ll check out this restaurant and see what food is here. We better eat and rest up here. Come morning, we’ll make the long hike to our mission objective. Jerry, come with me.” I said. Jerry nodded. We entered the back room in search of food. The kitchen was messy, but all the appliances were up to date and synced with my omniwatch seamlessly. I loved that military-grade Omniwatches could sync with all devices while on duty. We were silent for a moment, and then Jerry finally spoke.

  “You were from a gang, huh?” Jerry said. I swallowed silently, and my heart stopped in my chest. Shakes riddled all through my body. As the words were caught in my throat, Jerry continued. “People still didn’t believe I was in a gang until I talked about Warloons. You seemed to have the same feeling toward them as me. Let me ask you something… Did you choose the gang life, or were you born into it?” My mind raced for solutions to solve the problem. Throughout our brief friendship, I tried to only talk about mainstream topics. I imagined watching me fight would have revealed me to any true gangster.

  “What makes you think I was part of a gang?” I challenged. Jerry snorted.

  “Your combat style for one! I don’t know how, but somehow even though we’re from different worlds, our combat styles are similar. Now, if you can answer my question, that be great.” Jerry said. My gang days told me I needed dirt on someone before revealing a secret about myself. I wasn’t in a gang anymore. I was a marine. I’m allowed to gamble my trust again.

  “I was born in it… What about you?” I questioned. This will tell me everything I needed to know about Jerry. The only people who chose the gang life were morons who listened to too much gangster rap music or true monsters who wanted power at any cost.

  “What are you crazy? I was born into that hellhole life. My mother was their prime breeder. Had 39 kids before they killed her for trying to run off with me. I was her lastborn. They called me mama’s boy from that point on. Fucking assholes.” Jerry said with a hint of unusual anger, but his story hit close to home.

  “They used to tease me about how my mother was so strung out on Blue Dust she sold me to them. Called me Blu from that moment on.” I said. My heavy heart quickly became lighter, and I could breathe again. It felt good to share that with someone. I waited to see how Jerry reacted. His eyebrows centered, and his body trembled a bit.

  “Damn, that’s cold,” Jerry said.

  “My gang was more family-like but still assholes. They killed my mama on principle. What was your gang like?” Jerry rose to reach a refrigerator unit.

  “An underground empire,” I said. Jerry gawked as he opened a refrigeration unit and started pulling out food. It turns out this place was a soul food cuisine restaurant. Ribs were easy to cook, and the rug for them was on the counter. He pulled out more frozen food that was already prepared.

  “
I only knew of one other gang like that on my world. They had armies of thugs of every type. As many whorehouses as a fast-food restaurant had locations. They could consume whole neighborhoods, and the Guardians could do nothing but stay out their way.” He said. Strangely, everything he said was accurate. I found an oven and started tinkering with it.

  “Sounds like my gang,” I said. Jerry whistled quietly as he helped me move the oven. The oven managed to come on with some tinkering.

  “What was your role in it? We’re you a leader.”

  “They offered it to me, but I didn’t think I could lead then. I still was awarded my own room and a few personal breeders that only I had access to. I wondered where they are now? I made sure they got out first before the aliens attacked and gave them as much money as I could.”

  “They probably on a decent world if they know what’s good for them. I bet you had to do a lot of grimy shit to get those luxuries.” Jerry said. My jaw clenched. I wasn’t ready to speak about my past deeds. It haunted me every night and most of my waking moments. I was just a child being fed the bad influence and didn’t know much better. No, that wasn’t entirely true. I was just afraid. After you kill under that gang banner, you’re theirs forever, less you go to prison for the rest of your life.

  “I did. Please don’t make me speak of it.”

  “Never…” Jerry said with the most serious tone I’ve ever heard from him. “You ain’t the only one who fed their demons during your youth. We both did what we had to survive, and both joined the military to redeem ourselves. Let’s do that. Redemption through service,” Jerry said, reaching out his hand and waiting for me to shake it.

  He’s tricking you! He knows you’re a monster and just trying to get on your good side.

  That’s what I wanted to believe, but as soon as I looked into Jerry’s eyes, I knew it was nonsense.

  No! You’re not in a gang anymore. You have to trust…