Night had fallen. They had received a radio transmission from the opposing commander, some believed it was the Emperor himself, asking for a cease fire in the night for the sakes of all of the troops. Maybe the man did have some sanity.
The hospital was the most crowded tent in the camp. It was equally disturbing. Coughs and groans echoed throughout the room. Blood and bodily fluids covered the ground. But Corrin could not focus on them. He sat intently by the side of one bed: The bed of his best friend.
"Corrin. You need sleep. You've been here since the cease fire…" Medic Jonas called out from across the room.
"And I will be here until the end." Corrin replied dismissively. Jonas was right. He needed sleep. But he wouldn't leave his endangered friend.
There had been no movement in Johnson aside from the methodical breathing and occasional groans. Those were what worried Corrin. And the eyes. The eyes retained the same milky complexion as they had on the battlefield. They would loll into his head from time to time in a frightening manner.
Corrin closed his eyes sadly as the loud speaker clicked on.
Corrin Grant. You are required in Command immediately++
Corrin laid his hand on Johnson's chest. "I'll be back Johno." He could have sworn a small smile flashed on the unconscious man's face.
Corrin stood. He knew what this was. He would hate every second of it. He was learned in all the languages of the world, including the foul language of the Imperials. The generals used this to their advantage. He was constantly called to interrogate prisoners. He had seen worse than any man in his company in those interrogation tents. When he returned from service, he knew he would never be the same.
He brushed the tent hatch out of the way and breathed in the fresh air of the city. It was time again.
Corrin stalked into the command tent, a sour look on his face. "Ah, you've arrived." The general said with a smile. "We have medic Calth to keep you company today."
Corrin looked up. Medic Calth stood in the corner of the room, a look of fear on his face. A large table full of dangerous looking needles sat beside him.
He examined the tent. It was comfortable. A bed stood against the wall. Several desks were littered across the room along with makeshift water pumps and illuminators. The centre of the room had obviously been cleared. Something sat there, however, completely covered by a deep, black sheet.
The General's face turned all business. "I'm not screwing around now. We have a prisoner. You know this campaign isn't going well. We have to get answers about how to win this!"
Corrin nodded. The General placed a helmet on his head from the desk beside him. "I'll be wearing this." But the words hadn't come from the helmet, they'd come from a small object in the governor's hand. "And you, this." He handed Corrin the object. "In your ear."
Corrin complied by placing it in his ear lobe. "I will be asking the questions through there and you translate them. I can't have him thinking we know nothing." The General finished. He stepped beside the covered figure and tore the sheet from it.
A man sat there. The chair, worn and battered, was without a solid seat. His arms were pulled back in an uncomfortable manner and tied around the crumbling chair back. His face was white in fear. "What are you doing to me?" He squealed in Imperial tongue.
"We need answers." Corrin replied. He pressed his ear. "What are these greater soldiers you utilize?"
"They call them the Marines. They will defeat you. They know no fear." The man responded in defiant Imperial. Corrin relayed it to the General.
"I want an answer. We have punishment waiting for you if you do not comply." Corrin nodded to Calth, who stepped forward and showed the Imperial one of the needles filed with a horrifying green liquid. Corrin hated every word he was saying. Yet, he still felt spite for all the Imperials…the ones that had almost killed Johnson.
"There is no further information to give. They are unstoppable to you buffoons!" The Imperial replied bravely. Corrin stared at him.
"Where is your Emperor?" He said quietly.
"Why? Why would you want to find Him? He would strike you and all your kind down with a vengeance." The Imperial spat.
"Because I want to rip his throat out. I will cut into his heart. I will bathe him in his own blood." The Imperial looked in terror.
"This is no interrogation! Who are you to insult His name? You are nothing. Nothing!" The Imperial bellowed. Seeing Corrin take no action, the general pointed at Calth.
The young medic stepped forward. His eyes looked on in horror at the needle he held in his own hand.
"You will not stop the Emperor. His will be done!" The prisoner began to thrash around in the chair. Calth moved the needle closer and closer.
"Stop! You will only receive more pain!" Corrin said angrily. The Prisoner thrashed more violently. Calth withdrew for a moment. Then, as if finally breaking a moral boundary, he plunged the needle into the man's neck.
"Stop moving! You'll kill yourseld!" Corrin said urgently. The man rocked about in the chair. Calth looked away as the needle pressed deeper into the man's skin. The liquid began to see from the container quickly. There was a snap. The needle cracked from the bottle and slid deep into the neck. The Imperial's head rolled to the side. His eyes went blank. His breathing had stopped.
The three Mericans stood over the warm body. All felt darkness cloud their hearts. For a moment, there was silence. The loud speaker exploded to life.
Warning, Warning, dangerous personnel in camp facility++ the message repeated over and over. Corrin could only think of one thing. Johnson.
The Hospital was a mess. Several medics lay dead on the floor and many patients had passed where they lay. All murdered. There was a sob from behind one of the beds. Corrin hurried over. Medic Jonas sat crouched over the body of another medic. His body was still warm. He had just died.
Jonas looked up. "Corrin…Corrin, it's Johnson…he…"
"Which way." Corrin replied flatly. Jonas pointed immediately out the closest hatch. Corrin sped out the fabric flap and onto the pavement outside.
Two soldiers lay dead on the ground. Blood trailed across the road towards the camp boundaries. Corrin rocketed along the path of death, past confused and mourning soldiers, and across the road.
A shadowy figure limped ahead, barely outlined by the light of a strobe. "Johnson?" Corrin called out hopefully. The figure stopped and turned. Corrin walked forward. "Johno, where're you going?"
Johnson's face was revealed as Corrin approached. His eyes burned with a fire of inspiration. His face seemed younger than it had been earlier that day, like he was a new man. But he was still Johnson.
"Corrin, I saw Him!" Johnson said joyfully. "He came to me, I saw Him!"
"Who?" Corrin asked. He feared he knew what the response would be.
"The Emperor! I saw him." Johnson tilted his head. He looked utterly terrifying with a joyous smile and blank eyes. Something had come over him. "We talked. He told me of what he was going to do. It's Manifest Destiny that he rules the Earth!"
"Johno, one of his men almost killed you today." Corrin said, surprised by Johnson's sudden betrayal of Merica itself.
"No, Corrin, he saved me…" Johnson became lost in thought, the evil smile on his face only growing larger. "Come with me! We can join Him together!"
"Hell no Johno. You're insane. Serve your country. You're Merican, remember?" The smile vanished from Johnson's face.
"You are the insane one. You think you can stand to the might of the Emperor?" This wasn't Johnson, Corrin thought. It didn't matter, what ever the thing was that used Johnson's body as a shell was now pointing a slug rifle at his heart.
"If you do not believe, you do not deserve life…"
Corrin gripped his slug rifle and slowly began to bring it up. It was a duel. Whoever struck first…would live. There was a flash. Corrin had shit his eyes. They quickly blinked open. There was no pain.
Johnson fell to the ground before him. Something fell onto his boot. He looked down. Wetness began to spread across his boot's leather. Teas gathered around his eyes. He lunged forward and fell on Johnson's cold body, drenching his hair in tears.
"No! No! No! Damn it! Why?" He screamed, to no one in particular. Soldiers from the camp had heard the noise and were gathering around him. "The Emperor…" Corrin muttered. "Will Pay!" He roared.