Chapter 7: Relics of the past


The cold storage room was ominous and very unsettling. Here, deceased specimens and organic matter that was considered to be too valuable would be frozen here and preserved. My comrades were here in their pods. I looked at each one through the glass view ports, their bodies were being preserved for study and to be kept as fresh as possible when they are returned to earth for a proper ceremony. Their charred faces stared back at me, featureless and frozen with agony and terror. They deserved a proper burial or at least cremation. This wasn't right. I walked past the cryopods and looked at each one, putting my hand on each one and delivering a little prayer. Captain Marlow, the squad leader... Private Crawly, radio operator... Private Henry, company gunner... Sargent...Bradford? Wait, where the hell is Konrad? Again, I looked at the cryopods and the tags that came with them. There were four bodies at the crash site and none of them have Konrad's tags? That can't be right. "Hey Beltino. You sure you didn't find anymore bodies out there?"

"No, why?"

"I... Nothing, it's probably nothing. I just thought there were more people in that chopper with me. At least from my memory... I guess it's a bit off."

"I can assure you, we did a though sweep of the area, there were only four bodies."

What the hell could that mean? Was Konrad still alive out there? Or did he fly out when the thing crashed... He couldn't have survived, otherwise he would have dragged me along or killed me... Or was he caught... No, he's too good for that, he likely left me for dead and ran off. The fucker. I looked at the pods, wondering why I survived. I'm nothing special, I'm not a charismatic leader like Marlow, I'm not as gentle as Henry, I'm not as handy as Crawly, nor was as smart as Bradford.

Henry was a stoner, but he was cool. He had the drugs. Pot, LSD, acid... I tried pot once. I just coughed a lot and ate shit... It was embarrassing. Aside from that however, he was always calm and as he put it, chill. Always good at cracking jokes and lightening the mood in even the worse of scenarios. He told me he would have run off to Canada to escape the draft but he thought the Canadians didn't have drugs for some reason. He was friends with the guy... I can't remember the name, I know his last name was Lavender. Marlow was the guy who taught me how to assemble satchel charges with captured vietkong munitions and mines. Ironically, he was a police officer before he enlisted, part of a bomb squad. Bradford was a bookworm from Michigan, a rich boy too. Considered himself too high class to get down in the mud but was still willing to do so if... convinced by the superiors. I'm not sure what he did but you must have really fucked up to go from college to the army if you weren't drafted. Crawly was a plumber from New York... He didn't like to talk much about his job. According to Marlow, Crawly was arrested for theft and was offered a chance to go for Vietnam or jail. And the stupid motherfucker picked Vietnam. I wonder how each of them would have reacted to the whole scenario. Marlow would have likely joined the police again... Henry would have made friends and probably looked for some hippie commune. He was good with bongos after all... Bradford would have gone to a law school... Crawly... He probably would have taken the same path as me... Or just kill himself. You know what? This is fine. Maybe this is for the best. Konrad however I... Actually, I don't know him that well. I think he was a draftee as well but he never said what his past life was like. He might as well have been a complete stranger to me. I'm just glad he ran off though, he can't be trusted around the Cornerians. I wonder if the others knew anything about Konrad. There must be something in the wreck.

I turned to Beltino. "Hey doc... Is there any chance I can... Check out the wreck?"

"Why, we already checked it all out, there's nothing left."

"I just want to see okay? There might be something you missed."

"I...Alright James, but I'm going to need you to do something for me first."

"What?"

He began to lead me out of the room and down the hall. "Well... There isn't an easy way to put this. We spent a lot of our budget trying to remake you rifle into a suitable weapon for the Cornerian army. Every soldier who had attempted to use the weapon had either dislocated, broken their shoulder or labeled the weapon as ineffective. We need you to demonstrate by teaching our soldiers how to use the weapon. If you don't, I can't prove this weapon is suitable for military use and we might go bankrupt. We need investors James, our budget is already stretched thin with at least twenty other classified projects."

"Alright, will do Beltiono. I will try my best to teach the soldiers, the process of learning how to use an m16 though that takes a while. I probably should have told you that."

"It's quite alright James, I suppose I was too eager to get some troops to use this technology. The design may be outdated but the cartridges are just as good, if not, better the conventional laser or plasma rounds."

"I agree, those energy shields are a pain in the ass. You know, I always wondered how that worked."

"What?"

"I like, thought the those shields you guys made could form a solid barrier."

"They do. But it takes an extreme amount of energy to do so which is why they are primarily used on military outposts and ships. The personal shields stop lasers by dispersing the energy along it but it doesn't form a solid barrier which is why bullets are so effective."

"But not against body armor and you can't exactly charge up a m16."

"Well, the modified ammunition you are using does this trick."

"Yea, it's just more prone to breaking you arm."

"Don't remind me. Okay James, big smile and look good for the cameras."

We had reached a door that was labeled as the firing range. He hit the button on the side and it slid open. Inside, I could see several prominent figures including General Pepper, Phillip Pheonix, Captain Sheers. Four soldiers stood by the firing range, all were wearing a kit similar to mine and carried M16s. I saluted. The general saluted back. "At ease."

We lowered our arms and Beltino began to speak. "Now gentlemen, as you remember, the m16 program was meant to be implement soldiers with these ballistic weapons in order to bypass Venomian personal shield systems and serve as a viable option in the event of the enemy using EMP devices to weaken our defenses. However, due to recent training issues, we have suspended all training programs until further notice."

Captain Sheers cut in. "Doctor Beltino please! We've already made several attempts to train soldiers with these weapons. There is-"

The general cut him off. "That's enough Captain... Please continue Beltino."

"However, this is due to improper handling of the weapon. I have been authorized to conduct one last test with James instructing these soldiers on using the weapon."

He motioned to the soldiers standing with the rifles. "James, can you instruct these soldiers how to handle this weapons system."

"Yes sir!"

I turned to the soldiers and looked them over. All of them were dogs. I looked them over, external exo suits, targeting visors, what the hell is this. "Alright, before we commence, take off your suits and helmets!"

They looked confused. "Yes, you heard me, take them off!"

They quickly deactivated the rigs and separated from them. "Good. Now, one of you give me your rifle."

The soldier on the far left gave me the gun. "Now, as you are all aware, this weapon has recoil as opposed to your laser and plasma based weapons. This is why I have to teach you have to hold a rifle."

I unloaded the magazine and pulled the charging handle. No bullet flew out and the safety is on. Good, at least they know gun safety. I quickly loaded the magazine back in. "Now, watch me when I do it."

I slowly placed my left hand on the hand guard and one on the pistol grip. I then raised it to my shoulder. "Now, when you put a rifle to your shoulder, put it on the ball of your shoulder. This will prevent the recoil from injuring your arm. What most rookies do is, they put it to their armpits. This will either brake your arm when you shoot it or launch the rifle right out of your grasp. However, this isn't just about arms as well. When you do hold the rifle, I want you to have your right foot is perpendicular to the target and your left foot is slightly twisted to a degree that feels natural to you. Lean into your rifle when you shoot as well. This will allow your body to take some of the recoil as well so it's not all going to your arm. I'll correct your posture if I have to. "

Everyone put in their earplugs and I took a pair as well. I gave the soldier back his rifle. "Now turn down range and put the weapon to your shoulder."

They all turned around. "Aim!"

They raised the rifles and stood in posture. I looked at each one, making small adjustments to their positioning. Alright, they look good now. "Fire one round!"

They all shot. Rifles barking at the same time and echoing throughout the room. "Again!"

They did so again. "Fire a burst!"

Their rifles clicked as they swapped the firing mode before they shot again. "Switch to full auto and empty the magazine!"

The rifles chattered away, bullets fell and clattered onto the ground. They eventually managed to expend the rest of their ammunition. They relaxed and checked their weapons before turning around to face the observers. Beltino spoke again. "Now, as you can see, with proper training, soldiers can be more then perfectly capable of handling these weapons. We just need to adjust our programs and teach more soldiers how to handle these weapons so the rifle may become proficient with them. I believe that if we can do so, we will have a major advantage over the Venomians once we begin to issue these weapons to more troops on a greater scale."

General Pepper nodded. "I'll have to talk with the other generals to see who will be training with these weapons."

Sheers stuttered. "Bwah- General! We cannot afford to be using such primitive weapons on the battle field! It goes agai-"

"That's enough Captain. Unless you want another incident added to your disciplinary folder, I suggest you restrain yourself."

He grumbled to himself. "Yes sir."

He then turned to Beltino. "Doctor Beltino, why don't you escort James here to his craft. I'm recall that's what he came here for. We would like to continue watching these soldiers preform basic firing exercises."

"Of course. Come on James, I'll show you the way."

We stepped out of the room and went down the hall. Captain Sheers always had it out for me since day one. The guy's a racist asshole. Doesn't like me because I'm human. He has made several attempts to have me arrested with false accusations and by appealing to the council. Every attempt to either get me arrested or kicked off the planet had failed. He even tried a petition once but it was overruled by higher ranking members of the government. I really don't like that guy but I can't say that to his face because he is still higher ranking them me. Respect the position, not the man.


The huey still looked like shit. It was in a old hanger, surrounded by lab equipment that was used to study the craft and had been mostly taken away after they realized there was nothing special about the design of the craft. Beltino stood to the side with a dog soldier for security reasons. I now observed the craft with greater care. From what I could tell, the fuel in the craft didn't explode. Something inside, likely Konrad's Flamethrower, had ruptured and exploded, spreading the napalm inside all over the backside and setting off some explosive like a grenade or satchel charge. Poor bastards. Must have been an awful way to go. Slowly being burned alive. Then again, what's the difference, it was either here or at outpost zulu.

I scrounged around, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I picked up small shards of metal and threw them out of the huey to try and clean it up a bit. The scientists did a good job picking over the huey when they were first studying it. Taking out things like the fire extinguisher or ammo cans to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Then, I noticed something. A small section of the floor appeared to have been... Moved, somehow. It was a little hatch. I opened the little hatch and saw several objects inside. A baseball, a box of something, a carton of cigarettes, playboy magazines and... a letter? I turned around and looked at Beltino who had noticed me open the hatch. "Did you find something James?"

Shit! I don't know what's in that file but I don't think I can let Beltino find it. Think! Hey... I just got an idea. "Beltino, step away from that soldier. I want to try something really quick."

"What?"

"Just trust me. It might work but it might not."

"James, if you intend to hurt this soldier I'm afraid I cannot allow that!"

"No! The only thing he risks is making himself look stupid."

I pulled out the baseball. "What is that James?"

"A ball."

"What do you intend to test?"

"This. Fetch!"

I threw the ball to the far corner of the hangar. Instantly, the dog soldier dropped his weapon and ran after the ball. Beltino looked on with shock, trying to contemplate what was happening right before his very eyes. Alright. I quickly picked up the letter as well as the magazines and placed it in my jacket. The soldier eventually came back with the ball in his mouth. Panting loudly and wagging his tail. Beltino didn't see me take the letter and the cameras in the room couldn't have spotted me. I'm in the clear. Beltino took out a notepad and wrote something down and I left the helicopter. "Wow James... I... I don't even know ho- What is that?"

"What?"

"That thing sticking out of your jacket?"

Shit! The guard had picked up his blaster again and stared at me, as if he was daring me to make the next move. I looked down and saw that a small sliver of paper stuck out. "I... It's embarrassing Beltino."

"What is it James."

"Porn."

I pulled out a magazine and opened it. The pinup unfolded and fell to the floor, giving the soldier and Beltino a perfect view. The soldier let the ball fall out of his mouth and doctor's face went red. "Oh my."


Turns out, that box was a cooler with a twelve bottles of coke. After the incident with the soldier and the ball. I had given Beltino one of the bottles for study. If it were pepsi, I would have given him the whole pack. They ran some tests on me that day. Checking my health and fixing the collar before they ran tests to see what effect I had on the Cornerians which would cause them to act so out of the ordinary. They had me pet some of the staff members and play fetch to see what I was doing to them. I was also forced to make a makeshift cat toy out of the feathers of one of the employees and some loose twine for a cat to play with. Basically, any common trope I could think of with animals. I also was forced to relinquish one of the magazines to the doctors so they could... 'study' the anatomy of the human female and 'read' the articles. Aside from that, nothing much else and I was released after a few hours. I was just waiting at the tram platform for a tram. The platform was mostly empty save for the two soldiers that stood nearby watching over me. I had gotten past security and everyone else. No one suspected a thing about the envelope in my jacket. I looked at my watch, three forty two. I had taken out one of the playboy magazines and did my best not to look at the girls as I read the interviews. Believe it or not, this stuff is very intriguing. This guy I'm reading about, Martin Luther King Jr. is a black civil rights activist and he's actually doing a pretty damn good job at inspiring others. Sure is is getting attacked and arrested but hey, you can't make an omelet without cracking a few eggs. Hell, if this guy was a politician, I might vote for him. Then, someone in front of me coughed. I look up and... Shit, it's Sheers. I set down the magazine, stood up and saluted him. "Sir!"

He sneered at me. "So, you think you can humiliate me, huh?"

He paces about. "You think... You can just walk in here and take whatever you want... Don't you?"

"No sir!"

He growled and punched me in the stomach. I almost fell over but I didn't "Get this through your fucking mind skinner."

He grabbed my collar. "I don't care how long it takes or what it takes. But I will get you off this planet, one way or another. Do you understand that?"

"Yes sir."

He snickered. "That all you can say? Huh? Yes sir... No sir... God, you really are a dumb piece of shit... I can't believe what the General or the council could possible see in you or your primitive mongrel race. Tell me... What do you think they see?"

"I don't know sir!"

"DON'T BULLSHIT ME! You know what they're thinking, don't you! You've poisoned them all! Used your mind powers to influence their decisions! Well I'm not going to fall as easily as they are. You get me ape!"

"Yes sir."

"Yes sir, Yes sir, YES SIR, FUCK OFF SIR! You want to tell me that huh?"

He shoved me. "You want to hit me don't you. Talk back... Get revenge don't you. I wouldn't be surprised. You small primitive brain is probably telling you to do so. Perhaps that's what the council and the general want to see in our troops. Savagery! Unlike anything the civilized system has ever seen."

He smiled. "You're even worse then those apes James. At least they can pose an actual threat to Lylat, unlike your filthy human race."

He shoved me into the floor. "Ta ta!"

And with that, he left. I stood back up and recomposed myself. Captain Sheers.. What an asshole! All he does is bitch all day long about the smallest things. Fuckin asshole. I'd love to kill him one day. If he were a traitor, the first thing I would do is put one right between his eyes. That will solve a good deal of my headaches.

I stepped back into the dorm room with eleven bottles of coke under my arm, three playboy magazines in my jacket and a box of cigarettes in my pocket. None of the girls were back yet. Good, this works in my favor. I put the coke into my locker and took the file and magazines out of my jacket. I ripped off the plastic covering of the letter and opened it. My god... It's a letter about Konrad! By Captain Marlow! And there are... Oh, god, I think I'm gonna be-

I ran into the bathroom and threw up into the toilet. God, those pictures... What the fuck did Konrad do!

I composed myself and flushed the toilet before going back to the table. On it, the scattered photos laid by the letter. I picked it up...

I , Captain Marlow Benson, am requesting again, that Sargent Konrad be removed from the 21st rescue and reconnaissance division (Foxtrot), dishonorably discharged from the army and court marshaled. His mental state has clearly been effecting the combat effectiveness of the unit in addition to the psych other men in the unit. He is violent, compulsive and extremely reckless with absolutely no regard for the Geneva convention. He has violated the laws of war several times in the killing of innocent civilians, actively disobeying orders and killing prisoners of war in the most brutal manners imaginable. While other platoon commanders may let these actions slide due to the fog of war, I simply cannot overlook his cruelty and insubordination as he actively goes out of his way to attack NVA strong points which has resulted in several casualties in our unit and the loss of mission critical supplies. Many men in the unit fear him for his violent tendencies and his occasional drunken assaults on other men. He lowers the morale of the soldiers and hampers their combat effectiveness. He is a disgraceful, sadistic and a complete piece of shit. I want him out!

I looked at the photos, all of them had been taken without Konrad's knowledge because he was never facing the camera in any of them. He had strung up people and gutted them, shoved them into tiger pits and burned them, strapped claymores to them and forced them into rat tunnels, images of men who had been lined up against a wall and shot. One even showed a picture of him shooting a man in the head just as he pulled the trigger and the bullet flew out the other side of the man's skull. What the fuck is wrong with this guy? And he's fucking out there. Probably sneaking around the city, killing people and hiding them in the sewers because he a fucked up psychopath! Or maybe, he's working with the Venomians because these Cornerians aren't a race of warmongering pricks! Oh god. Now that's a thought. In fact, he probably would work with them. They are the closest things to humans this system's got... Physically. Shit! This is even worse then I suspected. The only thing worse then some wannabe war hero is a murderer.

I heard the sound of the door beeping. Shit! They're back! I quickly scooped of the evidence and ran into the bathroom, making sure to lock it behind me. Then I heard it slide open. "Oh James, I've got a surprise for you!"

It's just Miyu. "Uh, just a second! I'm on the can Miyu!"

"Well come out James! I want to show you something."

Shit shit shit! What do I do! I held the pictures in my hand. I can't let people find out about this! It could ruin my chances of getting home! It's the evidence Sheers would need to get me kicked off the planet and label the species as primitive savages. I quickly tore the pictures and letters and shoved it in the toilet before flushing it. That evidence, dies here! It went down without an incident. "Alright Miyu! I'm coming out!"

I exited the room and... Where the hell is- OH GOD! She tackled me to the floor and began to giggle. "Well, what is this James?"

She dropped one of the magazines in front of me. I could feel my face burning. "Nothing Miyu. Don't worry, I just read it for the interviews."

She stood off me. "Well then. Care to tell me about one of them?"

"Sure, there was one they were doing about a civil rights activist back home. A guy called Martin Luther King Jr. He was leading protests for equal rights for all races back home."

"Really now. Did you also see... Ms November's nips?"

"NO!"

She turned me over and sat on my chest, using one of her fingers to push my chin up so I was looking into her eyes. Oh god, I think I have an erection! "Come on now. You don't really think I would fall for that now would you? I know boys. There's nothing to be ashamed of here. But pictures can only get you so much. Why don't you get a taste of the real thing."

She took my hands and put them on her sides. "Miyu, stop!"

"No."

"Please Miyu, this is extremely inappropriate!"

"Why! Is it because I'm not human? I'm not good enough for you! Because you'll feel disgusted? What!"

"No! It's not at all like that. I'm just... Saving myself for marriage!"

"Huh... Really now."

She leaned in. "You you say that, but your body says otherwise."

She reached back and grabbed my crotch, giving it a squeeze, making me close my eyes. "Come on soldier, show me what you got."

I could feel her lean in close. "Come on G.I. Tell me your secrets."

Wait, that isn't Miyu! I opened my eyes, it was dark again and... Oh god... This isn't real, I can't be here! I'm not in a rat tunnel, I'm not in a rat tunnel! "Tell me what they are planning G.I!"

NO NO NO NO NO! THIS ISN'T REAL I'M NOT HERE, THIS ISN'T REAL!

Wake up James!

LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!

"TELL US WHAT YOU KNOW JAMES!"

HELP! HELP! I'M NOT HERE! THIS IS IN MY HEAD! PLEASE! GET ME OUT!

JAMES! WAKE UP!

"SPILL YOUR SECRETS G.I OR WE'LL SPILL YOUR GUTS!"

GET ME OUT!

PLEASE JAMES! GET UP!

"TELL US!"

NO NO NO NO NO!

PLEASE! WAKE UP JAMES!

PLEASE! GET ME OUT! I'M NOT HERE! I DON'T DESERVE THIS! I NEVER WANTED THIS! PLEASE!

"TELL US WHAT WE WANT TO KNOW!"

STOP! PLEASE STOP! YOUR'RE NOT REAL! I'M NOT ON EARTH! YOU CAN'T HURT ME ANYMORE! JUST STOP!

"Bring out one of his friends, that will get him to talk."

PLEASE HELP! MY NAME IS JAMES! I'M A SOLDIER IN THE U.S ARMY! I WAS STUDYING TO BECOME A JOURNALIST AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BOULDER COLORADO! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP!

You know what you did James!

IT WASN'T MY FUALT!

YOU DID THIS TO US!

I DIDN'T MEAN FOR THIS TO HAPPEN!

YOU DID THIS! THIS IS YOUR FUALT! YOUR FUALT!

JAMES! STOP!

YOU'VE KILLED US JAMES! YOU'VE LEAD US INTO HELL AND NOW CAN'T GET OUT!

I NEVER WANTED ANY OF THIS!

WELL TOO FUCKING LATE JAMES!

PLEASE! JUST STOP!

YOU WILL PAY JAMES! YOU HEAR US! YOU WILL PAY!

GO AWAY! STAY AWAY! I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK! I CAN'T!

Please James... Come back...


Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been busy with school work and trying to come up with something to write. I don't really want to post any filler pieces here unless it's for the sake of world building. I've rewritten my dreamkeepers fic and I'll be working on faux fox. Take care you all.