Chapter 29
Lo-Chem walked down the aisles filled with bio-beds of screaming men; he watched as the doctors ran ghastly experiment after ghastly experiment.
He could see the absolute terror in their eyes; their faces while they screamed in agony twisted his stomach into a million knots.
He passed each and every soldier…holding the same grim, devastated look in his eyes.
He wanted to put a stop to it…but duty demanded he continue.
He approached one of the doctors; he stood there for a moment…watching the horrid procedures unfold before his eyes.
The doctor noticed him after a minute…and paused…scalpel in hand. He set it down…and held up his blood soaking hands.
"Have you perfected the procedure, Doctor?" he asked gravely.
The Doctor nodded his head.
"Yes," he replied. "I do believe using the knowledge we've acquired we can use this same procedure…to create a toxic agent that will latch onto the specified DNA."
Lo-Chem nodded gravely; the soldier on the bed grabbed his arm.
"GENERAL! PLEASE! HELP ME!"
Lo-Chem looked into the man's eyes; he saw the pleading desperation and it ripped his heart out of his chest.
"Its your duty soldier,"
Lo-Chem quickly walked away.
At the door to the lab stood Sakal; he had the same look on his face.
"Were they successful?" he asked.
Lo-Chem nodded his head.
"Then shall I tell our men to capture a few of the enemy?"
Lo-Chem was silent for a moment.
He thought of his childhood.
He thought of his friendship to Sakal; the brotherhood that they had through thick and thin.
He thought of his men dying one after another on the battlefield.
He thought of his own men lying there being tortured and experimented on…under his orders.
He could feel the pain of all it…swirling and consuming him.
He could feel his legs wobble; he felt as though his feet would give out.
"What have I done?" he thought to himself.
"What you had to do. It was your duty." He heard his father reply.
"But, father…I have done terrible things,"
"Nothing is greater than the whole. You are merely a casualty of what must be done,"
"Yes, father,"
Lo-Chem nodded his head and continued on…never making eye-contact with the man who once was his friend.
Lo-Chem awoke from a cold sweat.
He felt a surge of adrenaline; he wanted to run or smash everything in sight.
But he just sat there…half-awake…confused about where he was.
He could feel his anger growing and growing; he felt it every day.
He needed to do something to satisfy it; he needed to destroy someone or something.
Since the war had ended…he'd felt as though he was going to self-destruct.
He had no purpose anymore.
"This Federation…that your scientists have discovered…what do you know about them?" his father asked him.
"They are war-like; they have fought every major power in their quadrant,"
"Are they powerful?"
"Yes…very much. But they exist in another dimension of space."
"But someday…possibly very soon…they could find their way to us,"
"Yes,"
"And they could destroy us,"
"Yes,"
"Then you know what you must do,"
"Yes, father,"
Lo-Chem had his duty; he had to protect his people…before they become a real threat.
It was what he had to do.