2
"Move." Baraka was literally shoving pass the tarks surrounding Millikan. The battle with the seidan didn't go as planned and Baraka was forced to call a retreat when he noticed half of his men were dead. Seeing his son flee from the battle just topped the cake. There was a mix of anger and worry dwelling inside of Baraka as he tried to see what was wrong with his son. "Let me see." He knelt down on one knee and grabs hold of Millikan right hand that covered the rag covering his fresh burn wound. Taking the bottom edge of the rag between his thumb and fore finger, Baraka slowly peeled back the rag.
"Kituo!" Millikan hissed out shoving his father's hand away. Baraka had seen part of the burn that covered the right side of his face. A bright red and white mark right above his upper teeth, the flesh was starting to heal but it was going to take a whole day for it to completely heal. "I'll be fine."
"You are a fala. boy." Baraka stood up. "What were you trying to prove out there?"
"I don't know. I thought I could take the commander out."
"You thought wrong. You were supposed to find me but instead you decide to take things into your own hands and end up getting your ass handed to you. I saw what happened, you were lucky to get away with just a busted nose and a burn." Baraka shook his head, snarling. He was getting to old for this.
"Kiongozi!" Chuma approaches Baraka who nods, showing he was listening. "52 are dead, 68 are wounded. I couldn't get to the rest of them are in peices."
"You know what to do Chuma, Gura." Baraka waved him off. Chuma glances down at Millikan then walks away to tend to the wounded. Baraka sighed and sits down on the grass beside his son.
"Where's Abasi?" Millikan asked, not wanting to just lay there in silence.
"He's taking care of the dead. Unlike you he got out with only a few minor scrapes and bruises."
"That's more than me." Millikan hissed as the right side of his face pulsed in pain. He was going be feeling the burn for days even after it fully heals. This was going to be a painful reminder for him and he knew his brother was going to rub this in his face. They were lucky the seidan's didn't come after them when they retreated into the woods or else there would have been more dead tark than wounded. "Now what?"
"I go back to Shao khan and take my punishment." Baraka deadpanned. He was looking ahead at nothing, his thoughts running as he thought of the many ways Shao would punish or most likely kill him for this failure.
"Father, why don't we just go somewhere else? Away from shao khan, take ma…"
"Kimya Millikan…we already discussed this before. Several times in fact." Baraka cut him off. Not bothering to look at Millikan. "Talk like that will get you killed boy. So you best keep your maw shut." There was no room for interruption as the sound of hooves rushing in their direction caught their attention. Baraka jumped to his feet and looked in the direction of the sound. A lightly armored centaur entered the tarkata camp, his head turning left and right as he searched for Baraka.
"What is it?" Baraka walked up the centaur, looking like a child approaching a giant.
"I bring news. The emperor has been assassinated." The centaur got right to the point, no time for formalities. The last word was like a switch as the whole camp fell silent. The centaur looked around as tarkata started staring back at him. No doubt they heard him loud in clear through pained growls and snarls that filled the air.
"Are you sure?" Baraka questioned, not believing it for a second.
"I saw the bloody helmet of Shao Khan with my own eyes Baraka. The emperor is dead, his killer is unknown for now." His front legs stomped the dirt below as if emphasizing his words.
"What happened to…" Millikan sat up suddenly, ignoring the pain. Baraka raised his left hand to silence him.
"The others? Mileena and the other generals?" Baraka knew what his son was going to say.
"Kitana and her comrades has somehow escaped. The rest of your tarkatan horde have fled to the wastelands. As for Mileena and the rest of the general's whereabouts…unknown. That is all I can tell you."
"Asante. I appreciate you coming all the way out here to tell me this." Baraka bowed his head and the centaur nods in return. He took a few steps back and turns around, running back into the direction he came from. The tarkatan started to get loud with grumbled whispers of what was going to happen next. Baraka crossed his arms and stared down at the ground, thinking about his next move. With Shao Kahn dead, if it was actually true. The tarkata had no master to serve, they were free.
Millikan was only thinking about one thing, his mother. Where did she go and was she even alive for that matter? Biting back the pain, he pushed himself off the ground and stood up. He needed to find his mother. As if Baraka was reading Millikan mind, the elder tarkata reached out and grabs him by the shoulder.
"I have to go back there and find her." The rag that was covering the right side of his face had slipped off showing the red hand print that was left behind. His eyelid was slightly blistered, preventing him from opening it.
"And risk getting killed by the same person who killed shao khan. Save yourself the disappointment boy." Baraka kept his hold on Millikan shoulder. "Will find her in due time. For now we have to recover and regroup with the rest of the horde in the wastelands."
"Hakuna." Millikan grabs his father arm and yanked it off his shoulder. "You will recover and regroup with the horde. I am going back to the fortress to find her. I don't care if the assassin is still there. I will not just wait for your command to go look for her. The longer we wait the higher the possibility that she could be dead."
"And what if she is already dead, boy. What if you return to the fortress only to find the rotting corpse of your mother? Then what?"
"Don't talk about her like that."
"You said it yourself boy, she could already be dead. Use that brain of yours Millikan. You were always the smart one, so think before you act." Baraka growled out. Millikan glared at his father, huffing through clenched teeth as he let the words sink in. "She wouldn't want you to go back there. She will find a way back to you, a mother always comes back for their young." With that, Baraka walks away leaving Millikan alone with his thoughts. His son was smart, he would figure it out.
Millikan watched his father walk over to one of the nearby tents, most likely going to rest before the sun rise. Snapping his teeth in irritation, Millikan set off to find his brother Abasi. It didn't take him long to find the 7 foot tarkatan who was currently tossing dead tarks into a large bonfire a half a mile from the camp. In a wide open area of the woods. Chuma and another tark was standing nearby, counting the bodies as they got tossed into the fire.
"He is a stubborn old tark." Abasi snickered as he grabs hold of a severed leg and tosses it into the fire. Millikan looks at the pile of bodies and decides to help. He grabs a severed torso and throws it into the fire. "You're going to the fortress aren't you?"
"I'm not sure." Millikan steps back as Abasi grabs a whole body and tosses it into the fire. The smell of burning flesh was thick in the air around them. "He is right, she could be dead."
"He's also right about you being the smart one." Abasi huffed, grabbing another body. "So, what are you going to do?" he tossed the body into the fire and noticed only a few severed parts were left in the pile.
"I don't know…I really don't know." Millikan stared at the fire, the bodies burning away as it grew. He felt something touch the top of his head, looking over at Abasi patting his head.
"There is no emperor for father to serve. He will most likely lead us back to the wastelands until he finds another ruler." Abasi removed his hand and grabbed the remaining body parts. "I don't care what happens, I just want to fight."
"Don't you ever get tired?"
"Of fighting…hakuna ndugu." Abasi almost sounded offended. "It's in our blood Millikan, we are born to fight and die a true warriors death."
"No…that's not I was saying." Millikan shook his head. "I mean don't you get tired of serving others. Obeying commands like lapdog."
"You lost me."
"Of course." Millikan sighed. "I can't stay here Abasi. I have to leave."
"You want to leave the horde. You want to become…Jambazi?"
"Yes. And I know what happens when I leave the horde. I lose my rank. And if I want to come back I have to fight to get back in." Millikan shrugged. "I always wanted to go out there and see the rest of Outworld. Possibly other realms as well. So if I become Jambazi, so be it." He stared at his brother, waiting for his response. Abasi was quiet as he looked down at Millikan with a blank expression. He turned his head to look over at the fire then back at Millikan.
"You sure about that?"
"Will you join me?"
Another moment of silence from Abasi. The fire was starting to die down some as most of the bodies slowly turned to ash. With the click of his teeth, Abasi patted Millikan shoulder.
"I will make sure father is distracted. You got one hour to gather whatever you need and leave. Bahati nzuri Ndugu." Abasi patted Millikan on the top of the head. Turning on his heel and walking off to his father tent. Millikan sighed, at least he had an hour to prepare.
"Chuma?" Millikan turned around to see Chuma standing not too far away, dozing off on a tree stump. He blinked as Millikan called his name and immediately stood to his feet as Millikan walked towards him. "I'm leaving the horde, will you join me?"
"Ndio Millikan. We are ndugu to the end." Chuma nodded.
"Good, I need you to go around a gather as many as possible. We set out in an hour and not a minute late. Understood?"
"Ndio."
"ABASI!" an enraged Baraka roared out as he paced back in forth. Abasi kneeling before him with his head to the low as he listened to his father rant on in their native tongue about how he allowed Millikan departure. "How could you allow this to happen? Did you forget your oath?"
"No I did not forget my oath to Mileena."
"Then why is he gone?" Baraka stopped his pacing to glare at him." Why is your brother gone along with 12 of my men?"
"They must have slipped away when I was sleeping." Abasi raised his head to look at Baraka. "Sikitika papa." He lowered his head once more, not wanting to look his father in the eyes.
"Sikitika, that's all you have to say." Baraka took a step forward and grabs Abasi by the chin in tight grip, lifting his head up. "You better hope we find him before Mileena finds us. Because of she does find us and doesn't see her son, she will have your head and there is nothing I can do to stop that."
Author note: Thanks for reading, Reviews are appreciated.