Chieftain Ssababkh ran through the corridors of his fortress. Out of breath and shedding drops of sweat along the way, leaving a clear trail behind him, the Yinchorri occasionally looked back or stumbled when the walls of the ancient structure shook from new explosions.
The massive citadel opened its doors welcomingly, letting him deeper and deeper inside. soldiers, temple servants, and females and children who had barely left their clutches and taken refuge in the fortress-temple rushed past him.
Many of them watched the Chieftain with bewildered looks, not understanding why one of the most influential and sentient representatives of their species, famous for years for his impeccable reputation...
Was now running without looking back, not answering questions.
But many quickly forgot about this, for they were inside Itsocatl, the ancient fortress that had shielded its inhabitants from all dangers many times, be it a cataclysm, united clans of enemy kin, or pirates from deep space with unusual and incredible weapons.
A true stronghold of their people, which for long centuries had been an impregnable bastion, the foundation of order and power on the planet Yinchorr. In times past, it was here that the chieftains of tribes and clans gathered to negotiate or discuss new orders on the planet, to conclude peace or declare a new war to thin out weak blood and let the hatchlings taste real battle.
Every significant step in the history of their people was connected to the fortress-temple of Itsocatl. Here they honored the past, rejoiced in the present, and forged the future.
Enormous walls, carved into the mountain itself, cast shadows over all who dared approach the fortress-temple.
Towers, whose height threatened to reach the heavens themselves, bristled with new weapons that had become available after their venture into space. The formidable muzzles of cannons protruded in all directions, warning that even if the entire planet fell to the invaders, Itsocatl would hold out and drink much of the enemies' blood.
And the Citadel, a majestic and grandiose structure that took several generations to build. After going into space, the Council of Chieftains began zealously perfecting and improving the defenses of this place, covering the fortress with planetary shields, bristling every corner with cannons, and delving further inside the massive mountain, the Pillar of Peace.
Stretching for many kilometers, Itsocatl could swallow millions of soldiers, bring down dozens of ships, and withstand any siege if there were foolish daredevils who approached its walls.
Chieftain Ssababkh collapsed to the floor. Another strike on the fortress shook it to its foundations, and stone dust showered from the ceiling. Scraping his hands from the fall, he saw the outstretched palm of one of the Citadel Guardians before him, but instead of accepting help, he fiercely brushed it away, quickly jumping to his feet and continuing his run.
Hissing in pain from clearly broken ribs, the Chieftain ran without looking back, while the explosions above his head grew more violent and, most unpleasantly, closer.
Running up to the last door in the winding corridor, the lizard grinned joyfully and quickened his pace, practically slamming his sizable body into the steel door.
With trembling hands, he tore the cover off the control panel and began entering the emergency code on the keypad, which every member of the Council of Chieftains possessed. Frequently faltering and cursing under his breath, Ssababkh raged, and his tail lashed more frequently because of it.
"Come on! COME ON!" Punching in the last symbol of the massive forty-digit code, the Chieftain squeezed through the partially opened door, where he was instantly met by dozens of Blaster muzzles of various calibers.
"Chieftain Ssababkh, what are you..."
"Shut up," delivering a blow to the first guard standing closest, Ssababkh pushed him aside, just like everyone else who failed to get out of his way. Hissing with malice and fear, the Yinchorri squeezed through the ranks of soldiers and makeshift barricades until he reached the monorail leading to the other side of the mountain. "There it is... Finally."
"Chieftain!" Seeing their leader starting to power up the train, the soldiers grew agitated. Lowering their weapons, they looked at Ssababkh with incomprehension, not knowing what to do. Someone tried to ask questions, but to everything said aloud, the Chieftain only waved them off, calling for silence. "Where are you going?!"
As soon as the high-speed car started and came to life before his eyes, a smile full of calm and relaxation traced Ssababkh's face. Sitting in the chair, he allowed himself to exhale, after which he turned his attention to the guards crowded around him.
"If you don't want to die, get in the car; I'm leaving in ten seconds..."
"What? But how? You're abandoning us? Abandoning Itsocatl?!"
A multitude of voices clamored in various ways; some were surprised, others began to panic, and a third group simply grew angry, preparing to use their weapons for their intended purpose.
"You are the commander of the Western Walls' defense!" Bursting forward, one of the lizards aimed a Blaster directly at the calm Chieftain's head. With a perfect poker face, Ssababkh looked at the soldier without fear. "The entire army in this sector obeys you, and you are abandoning it!"
"There is no army anymore." The Chieftain's words rang out like thunder from a clear sky. The quiet, measured... and terrified voice of the old lizard threw everyone into confusion, cutting off the shouts. "The enemy broke through the mountain range like paper and has already burst into the Inner Tunnels. Another hour, maybe two, and they will begin the assault on the Citadel from this side..."
"Impossible," almost dropping the weapon from his hands, the Yinchorri who had asked the question stared at his leader in disbelief. Looking around for support, he stumbled in place, but vigilant comrades didn't let him fall. "Not even a day has passed, and they've already broken through the outer defensive lines... I don't believe it. It can't be."
"It can." Sadness cut through the listeners like a sharp blade, finally shattering their faith. Only now, in the light of the lamps and having stopped for a moment, were they able to look closely at their Chieftain. Battered, covered in soot and abrasions, missing scales on his left wrist, breathing heavily... He looked like a beaten dog, which only added truth to his words. "We were blind. Overconfident and foolish. Believing that by obtaining the best from the soft-bodied, we grew proud... And now retribution has collapsed upon our heads..."
Shrugging his shoulders, Ssababkh shamefully closed his eyes, turning his snout away so as not to look into the frightened faces of his fighters.
Before the old Chieftain's invisible gaze, scenes of the battle that had raged the day before flashed by, and every time he stopped, he shuddered at those memories.
He had seen things they hadn't even dreamed of... Horror that the mind of a simple soldier is incapable of enduring.
A burning glow in the distance, over cities and villages, forests and fields... The entire world shuddering under the Hellish tread, groaning under the explosions of missiles, laser beams, and plasma bombs generously showered upon Yinchorr.
Giant ships over Tol Kachorn and the screams of hundreds of thousands of his kin burning in the fire of ship guns that unleashed their full power on their capital.
The fall of the great walls, the unshakable might that had protected his people for centuries... Which crumbled like a house of cards in the wind.
And the screams. The howls of rage and anger from thousands of enemies who came to kill, to the thunderous stomp of their sabatons, the salvos of cannons, and laser repeaters.
"But what do we do then... Fight? Tell us, Chieftain?"
Lifting his eyes from the ground, Ssababkh looked into the eyes of his warriors, seeing indecision there for the first time in his long life... weakness... and fear. It was readable in their eyes. His warriors, his soldiers, those who had sworn to protect Itsocatl at the cost of their lives—now did not know what to do next or how to be.
"Pack up and leave with me," he didn't know how he had regained firmness in his voice. He didn't know how he could say it a second time, struggling with shame and his own emotions. "To the other side of the mountain, to the Eastern Wall..."
"And what awaits us there? Can we manage there? Has the enemy not broken through in the east?"
The warriors showered him with questions, and only by hissing resolutely and waving his hands was he able to call them to order.
"On that side, Itsocatl is being stormed by an army from different planets under the command of the Jedi; they..." Swallowing thick saliva and licking a chipped fang with his long tongue, Ssababkh said what would forever close his path to ruling over his people. "...They will leave us alive if we surrender."
***
"This is all very interesting, of course, but..." Micah Giiett, a member of the Jedi Council sent to Yinchorr to prevent the uprising, never expected that instead of quieting aggressive upright lizards, he would have to save them from crazy Assassins from the galaxy's edge. "They will be sent to trial, where the Senate will decide their fate..."
"Why these long-winded speeches?" Having reloaded my rifle, ignoring the Jedi's words, I give the fighters the order to set charges on the massive gates of the "Citadel," behind which the last chieftains are hiding. The damn lizards praised their fortress so much, but in reality, it turned out to be just a huge mountain with crookedly placed ancient weapons sold to these savages for huge money. "We are the Senate's judgment, sent here to return the planet to the bosom of Democracy and Liberty. To make the Yinchorri and many others feel that the Republic will not forgive treason and a blatant disregard for its laws."
"The Jedi Order handles this matter," putting his hands on his hips, smiling slyly and squinting his eyes, playing the part of a sweet fatty, I nonetheless noticed how the damn tubby shifted so that, if necessary, he could sever my arm with one strike. "And from the very moment I stepped onto the planet's surface, you are obliged to obey my commands, Commander Altman."
"Now, that was a mistake."
I didn't even have time to put my hand to my helmet... hell, I didn't even have time to finish that thought before two hundred rifles, autocannons, repeaters, rocket launchers, and other delights of weapon maniacs turned in a single impulse toward the "Jedi and his friends." Two Titans behind my back raised massive cannons, the size of the Yinchorri themselves, which at such a distance would easily turn Micah Giiett's entire group into a piece of bloody meat on the walls, not to mention the simple soldiers with basic armor behind him.
"What are you..."
"Stand down!" Barking across the corridor so loudly that the sensor in my helmet began to beep in protest, I wave to my people, showing that everything is fine. After ensuring that even the Pilots—the most rowdy bastards, but also the ones most concerned about my ass—lowered their weapons, I turned back to the sly Jedi, in whose eyes a flash of satisfaction from the successful provocation appeared. "Do that one more time, and I won't hold them back..."
"Jedi, pfft..." Spitting on the ground, Arkam rolled his eyes at my reassuring pat on the shoulder, then left to check on the sappers to avoid hanging around the overly idealistic Jedi... or the opposite.
Pointing a finger at the fat man under the bewildered gazes of his companions, I turn my back on him and walk toward the small temporary camp where my Shock Troopers and walker pilots were resting.
Here was a field kitchen, kolto tanks, engineers, logistics personnel, and many other things that are sometimes unnoticed against the backdrop of loud battles and dramatic explosions.
"Sorry, sorry, Sam, but I had to be sure." Unlike my band of cutthroats, the Jedi didn't have such a strict hierarchy, so the other monks followed Giiett despite his furrowed brows. "Besides, it's an incredible experience—to be a step away from one's own death..."
"Pff, don't feed me that crap; I know you definitely have a camera on your belly or under it or somewhere else." Another finger jab at this sly rogue caused the latter to give an awkward laugh and scratch his head, while the level of doubt among the other monks regarding what was happening continued to rise. "And tell your friends to stop grabbing their swords at every opportunity; my guys are already nervous in their presence."
"Oh, come on, there are almost four times as many of you..." Watching Miranda walk past with a greasy look, Giiett winked at her, which didn't even earn a snort, but the Jedi couldn't continue the ridiculous flirting because the third Titan stomped after the Twi'lek, swaying not its ass, but a massive autocannon with a huge bayonet under the muzzle. "And you're quite well-armed..."
"Enough empty chatter," sitting down, I take off my helmet, inhaling with pleasure the scent of soot, blood, sweat, and steel that spread through the area. "Just tell me why you came. And enough of your games; the Senate Security Council sent me here myself."
"The Security Council. Is Mr. Dicker aware of this operation?" One of Giiett's companions, a Kel Dor in a mask covering half his face, stepped forward. His emotions were hard to read, but from the cold tone of his voice, it was clear he didn't like what he heard. "What you have staged here violates the laws of the Republic..."
"Don't talk to me about laws." Leaning on my knee, I look boldly directly into the mesh goggles over the Kel Dor Jedi's eyes. "Right now, I am the law here."
Without listening to the indignant responses from the others, I simply transmit the documents of our hiring to Giiett, as well as all the crimes the Yinchorri committed and which we were able to record or confirm with holo- or video evidence.
And while the tubby Jedi, barely reaching my chest in height, read through the contents, his face highly expressive and clearly interesting his companions, I was sending a message to Somnia to prepare for departure.
I am not going to give the last chieftains to Giiett. The vile creatures will answer for everything they have done, there is no doubt about that...
But I won't be able to carry out a full genocide of this foul race of cannibals and raiders, because with the appearance of a Jedi Master and a support group gathered from all over... to put it mildly, I won't be able to slaughter the damn cannibals.
"Indeed, everything looks authentic... I must admit, I don't even want to believe it." Closing his tablet, Micah sat down opposite me while his companions surrounded their leader from all sides, completely yielding control of the conversation and, apparently, no longer intending to intervene. "But I still insist that you must not kill everyone in this hall..."
"Did you actually look at all the holophotos? Are you sure?" Seeing the Jedi roll his eyes, I pointed to the tablet. "Like how they eat, for example..."
"Don't." Holding out his hands, Micah smiled conciliatorily, while his companions tensed up again, reaching their restless hands toward the blades on their belts. "Let's not take things to extremes... The Jedi Council gave me the task of bringing the chieftains to them, and I will fulfill it."
"Most of these creatures are dead; we slaughtered everyone last night, and today we will kill the rest." Continuing to look at the Jedi without fear, half of whom were already gripping their swords, I lean back on a crate of ammunition, looking them over again. "Are you seriously wanting to fight us? Without a chance of victory? Not with them, with us?!"
Pointing a finger at the massive door, then moving the finger to my chest, I repeated this several times, to which the Jedi at least reacted somehow.
"They committed a crime, and they will answer for it. We are the Peacekeepers, and now, Sam Altman, I call you to peace." Making a few passes over the table, his tablet then beeped and showed a live broadcast of our conversation. "Back down, or we will all die here in vain, to the joy of the Republic's enemies. There is no need to continue the bloodshed..."
And he stared at me, looking with both eyes, the bastard. And I don't even have any doubts about where the recording is being sent. Even if in poor quality, even if with a significant delay... it will reach the recipient, and this will bring no small amount of trouble to me, to Rick, to all the Helldivers, and to those who support us.
"So that's how it is... When these creatures were butchering people and taking slaves, you were deciding important issues in your Council... But when we broke them, when my people's blood broke the defense of their walls, you decided to play peacekeeper. Do I understand everything correctly?"
"You are playing with words. As soon as we learned of the tragedy that occurred, we immediately set out for here, arriving only a couple of days late." Exhaling wearily, Micah Giiett squinted his eyes, burning me with a focused gaze. "I won't ask how you got here so quickly, so I ask you—back down."
For several minutes we sat in complete silence; fortunately, my guys didn't hear this conversation, having moved away from the Jedi at the very beginning to stay out of sword range... I was relying more on the jetpack's afterburner mode in case a conflict started.
Standing up from the crate, I pull on my helmet, then give the command to my people.
"We're leaving." Without listening to the sly shorty's thanks, I turn and walk away, only throwing back some extremely dangerous words. "Your Order is already in decline... See that you don't lose your last allies."
***
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