Chapter 5: Freedom or death?

UNSC Sol

Fleet Admiral Becket

"Sir! The storm is going away, we will be able to reestablish contact with FOB Shangri La in a minute." Shouted one of the bridge operators. Fantastic, we need to deploy QRF and medevac teams immediately.

"Affirmative. Captain give the all-clear for our forces to move out!" The Captain quickly nods his head before giving the order. Right now around a dozen Pelicans and 4 Condors are on their way planet side to reinforce our position and get wounded personnel back to Sol.

This planet…so far it defies almost all the rules of nature and laws of science. Would it be better if we try to use the Slip Space drive again and just leave this hell hole? No…it is malfunctioning and if we use it again, it might kill us this time. Communications should be reestablished at any minute now.

"Admiral we have Colonel Eckart on the line." Just in time. Becket quickly moves to the operator and speaks. "Eckart, what's your status and the status of Shangri La?" Please don't let there be any human deaths…

'Admiral my status is green, unfortunately, the same can't be said for Shangri La." Fuck what does he mean? "We have multiple wounded personnel in need of a medevac, thankfully no deaths. The Prefab structures…well most of them are torn to shit." Torn to shit? Jesus, what kind of storm was it?

"Explain Colonel." Becket says with a neutral tone laced with worry.

"Well Admiral, immediately after we lost contact with you…ummmm around 7 tornadoes touched down in the surrounding area and one passed through us. We would have lost most of the base personnel if we didn't evacuate to the bomb shelters."

7 Tornadoes…how the fuck is that even possible! It's not natural for a storm to appear out of thin air and it sure as hell isn't normal for 7 tornadoes to form. Good thing I ordered the bomb shelters to be built first.

"And our recon teams Colonel? Did they return?"

"Yes sir all recon teams have been accounted for... but Admiral…the unknown object first platoon has been sent to intercept is an umm a human truck." WHAT! Human truck. Judging by how quiet the rest of the bridge has gotten, everyone else must also be in shock from this revelation…Calm down. The aliens are probably just humanoid.

"And Sir, the inhabitants of the truck are also human…except for a couple of features." That's it. This planet wins the prize for the most fucked up planet in the Universe. "Colonel, I need you to explain to me nice and slowly by what you mean they are human save for a few features."

'Well, Admiral. We have captured one male and six females. They all look exactly like us, well I mean human. Yet they are different to us because the male has uhhh goat horns on his head." Goat horns? This has to be some sick fucking joke. "And the females sir... one of them has a halo and wings…while the rest have demon tails growing from their lower backs and horns growing out of their head."

Don't tell me we stumbled upon a fantasy world where different types of human species live. If we did, then shit just got a lot more complicated. "Colonel, are you certain they are human?"

"From the looks of it, yes Admiral. I believe they are human or how should I put it…a subrace of human. But we wouldn't really know until we do medical tests and exams on them."

Makes sense. The aliens may look human, but the question is are they human on a DNA level? After all, the Neanderthals did have a different gene structure compared to us homo-sapiens, yet they were still part of the human race. Just a bit different. Could the same be applied here…could the inhabitants of this planet also be considered human but just different compared to us? Different races? Different questions flooded Becket's mind before Colonel Eckart broke him out of his trance again.

"Admiral one more thing. They can speak English but they call it Victorian." English…the chances of a similar language to develop from different parts of the Universe is impossible and Victorian…Also human, if I am not mistaken it originates from the Victorian Era on ancient Earth…Too many coincidences. Perhaps possible Forerunner involvement. Fuck if it is Forerunner then we need to prepare for the possibility of facing the Flood. But back to the original topic.

"Colonel, in what state were these…humans…found?" Feels weird calling an alien race human.

"The male was found in perfect condition. Well-fed and healthy. The females were not so lucky. Some of them didn't have clothes on. They were beaten, starved, and we have indications that they were raped." Hmmm sounds like this variant of human possesses human evil. Should we execute him…rape is punishable by death in accordance with UEG law. Hell, do they even fall under the jurisdiction of the UEG?

"The male whose name is Edward said that he is a slaver and those women are his…property." Colonel Eckart says with absolute disgust and hatred in his voice. Becket can't blame him. Slavery was outlawed centuries ago and was completely routed out of all human colonies 8 decades ago. Not to mention, slavers are to be shot on sight. No questions asked.

Should we help these slaves and execute the slaver? Or should we just kill them all? We are going to be the ones to care for the slaves since they probably have nowhere else to go. "Colonel. I need your honest opinion on this matter. What do you think we should do?"

The Colonel looks shocked since Becket asked for his input. "Sir… I believe we should interrogate the slaver and once we extracted all information from him, we kill him and as for the slave women. We should run medical tests on them as well as DNA tests and compare them to ours. After that we should build a compound on the ground near or inside Shangri La for them to stay in. It will be a security risk if we let them go." Hmmm. Not bad Eckart. Not bad at all. I should probably make you our Head of Diplomacy.

"And maybe after a while, they can become informants for us or join the UNSC altogether." Not everyone is going to agree with letting some slaves join the UNSC. But looking at things…we are going to have to integrate the people of this planet eventually. The slaves will be a testbed for integration with our forces.

"Colonel. You have my permission to care after the slaves. You need to make sure they have a full UEG education. They also need to be in excellent health. And use them as practice for our ground forces to interact with the locals of the planet."

"Yes Admiral!" Colonel Eckart responded happily.

"Oh and Colonel. Make sure the slaves aren't discriminated against by our soldiers. Me and Dawson will be planet side in about 40 minutes to interrogate and execute the slaver."

"Affirmative Admiral. We shall prepare for your arrival sir!" Eckart responds with a salute before ending the hologram call.

Time to get Dawson, interrogate the slaver, execute him and have a friendly chat with our new potential recruits.

Klara Bennet

Uncertainty. If you asked me what I am feeling right now…it is uncertainty and fear tainted with a little bit of hope. That is what I am feeling right now. Thought Klara solemnly to herself while sitting outside a prefab military house.

I'm so stupid…why did I choose to run away from Kazdel all those years ago? I thought I was finally free. Free from my parents' nagging. Free to live my life how I want it. To be in control of myself…yet not a month into me leaving Kazdel I was captured by wasteland slaver.

I was tortured, beaten and…defiled in many different ways by a variety of scum. Twelve years was I stuck with the slavers. Only recently did we escape. But of course, as fate would have it…I am meant to be a slave. That prick Duncan instantly caught up with us, recaptured us and had beaten a slave to death in the middle of the Sargon desert.

But then it seems like fate changed her mind yet again. The Catastrophe came and with it came new faces…the UNSC they call themselves. For whatever reason they decided to intercept us and brought us here. Me and the rest of the girls were separated from that prick and brought to a medical center, or the ruined remains of one. The Catastrophe must have hit this base of the UNSC too.

In the medical center, they forced us to urinate in small cups took some blood samples and did a variety of other medical tests. They also took photos of my horns and tail, almost as if they had never seen anything like it before. I wasn't even questioned. Some guards came and took me here to this small modular house and just told me to stay here. Being the good little slave I am, I of course complied.

Now I am just waiting to be interrogated or something. I am the only one of the slaves here who has a formal education.

*Crunch* *Crunch* Footsteps! Coming straight towards me. Klara looks up and quickly spots the owner of the footsteps. A man dressed in a white military uniform accompanied with a white military hat. He must be in charge of this place.

"Hmm, she really does look human like us. Those devil horns and tail are also interesting." Devil…Klara can't help but chuckle. Of course I am being described as a devil. They seem to have fallen trap to the Sankta propaganda. And he isn't afraid to say it while staring into my eyes. I wonder what he meant with 'human like us'

"Do you have a name miss?" The soldier dressed in white asked Klara. Heh…asking for this lowly slave's name. How amusing.

"Klara Bennet." Klara responds calmly.

"Well then Klara. My name is Becket. I am the current leader of the soldiers who rescued you and your friends." Sure doesn't feel like I am rescued.

"Do you and your friends have a home Klara?" Were slaves…of course we don't have a home idiot!

"No…no we do not." Klara responds quietly while looking down at the dirt.

"Okay then…I don't know how to say this. Diplomacy isn't really my strong suit. Klara, under UEG regulations, all slaves are to be set free and cared for until they are well." What? So they are going to take care of us? And what the hell is the UEG, must be a new nation.

"So in other words. You are hereby under UEG custody and will remain here until we give the all-clear. But unfortunately for you…you won't be allowed to leave this place. Ever."

"What? You just said that you are going take care of us and set us free and now we aren't allowed to leave!" What's wrong with these hypocrites?! Really, we saved you and now your staying with us forever!

"I know and I apologize Klara, but due to our current situation. We have to maintain a low profile for as long as possible. So yes, you are stuck with us."

"What? What will happen to us?" Please, I don't want to continue being a slave, and neither do the other girls.

"Well, since you are now permanently under our jurisdiction, you will be given a formal UEG education, and after that, you will take tests to become a UEG Citizen. If you don't want this…you can always be executed to ensure our security and safety." So that's it then…join us or be killed. It's probably better than being a slave.

"Fine, I will agree for now. I just need to know what will happen to the others and how we will be treated here under our new overlords."

"Oh don't worry. I will personally give the same offer to the others and for how you will be treated…Don't worry you will be provided with food, water, medicine, education, entertainment, and housing such as the one behind you. And later on, combat training where you will become a soldier under the UNSC."

UNSC? I still don't know what that means…

*Bang!* A gunshot echoes through the base. "What was that!" Oh no, are they under attack?

"Hmmm, I guess the interrogation is over. And for that sound Klara, that's just Duncan being executed for his crimes against humanity." Duncan dead? Is he really dead?! Maybe it isn't such a bad idea to join these guys…

"Thank you…for killing Duncan."

"No problem. Slavers are to be shot on sight after all. So Klara, do we have a deal? Are you going to join us or die?" Becket asks as he holds out his hand to Klara.

Klara merely stares at the hand before grabbing it with a rare smile on her face. The first time she smiled in 12 years. "We have a deal Becket. I'll join you."

Firmly shaking his gloved hand. "Good choice. You will be briefed about our situation tomorrow morning. So make sure you get some good sleep tonight. Tomorrow is going to be a long and… surprise full day for you."

Becket turns around and starts walking away. "Oh and Klara, welcome to the United Nations Space Command."

Honesty and loyalty are key. If two people can be honest with each other about everything, that's probably the biggest key to success.

-Taylor Lautner

Author notes.

Here's the new chapter. If I am being honest, this one feels a little bit rushed. I might work on it the following week. Next chapter will hopefully be out in about 4 days.

Remember to leave suggestions for me in the reviews or PM me.

Until next time.