Aboard the GR-75 transport ship three hours later, Tal stared expectantly at the blast doors to the general’s quarters. He had reported to superior officers hundreds of times before, but something felt different. Tal knew the general from many conversations with officers and made it a point to ask a lot of questions. The general, all had agreed, never summoned ANYONE outside of his normal staff of officers without a special reason.
When the doors open, Tal stepped into a large, quietly furnished room. Screens of maps, planetary statistics, and Alliance resource allocation met his gaze, scattered around in what appeared to be random patterns. At a particularly large screen stood a tall, solidly built man with his back turned to Tal. The captain waited patiently and rigidly for his presence to be acknowledged. He noticed that the large screen bore images of black insignias Tal’s troops had recovered only hours ago along with the forms of several figures covered in black helmets.
Several minutes passed before the tall figure spoke. “Tell me what your men found, captain. I want to hear it from you personally.” This was the famous direct, personal approach of General Kol Tonoris. As he spoke, he turned a pair of intense, grey eyes on Tal. Tal saluted and met the general’s sharp gaze as he began to explain the massacre on the small, Kindari settlement. The general turned back to the large screen he had been watching and considered silently for a few minutes. “What do you know about the Black Brigade, Captain?” he asked without turning around.
Tal turned the question over in his mind a few seconds before he answered. “Nothing definite, sir. We only hear a few whispers and recover a lot of bodies.” Tal could see the general’s face had set at these last words and he knew he had made a mistake. “What do you really think about these “whispers”, Captain Daris?” the general said sharply as he turned to face his subordinate again. Tal took a slow, deep breath and answered, “We don’t know anything and my unit is tired of being too late, sir. We’re always one step behind and knee-deep in dead civilians.” The general said nothing but motioned for Tal to approach the large screen. “When we are done speaking, captain”, he said quietly but firmly, “you will understand more than you ever wanted to.”
To Be Continued
Science Fiction
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