The Recruitment: Rise of the Free Fleet (2 page)

They took my advice, getting their bodies under control as I slowly got to my feet, my head thumping from the lack of oxygen.

“Thanks.” One said from the ground as I was rethinking my thought to stand up.

“No problem.”
 
I ground out. Talking and standing made my head swim. I was breathing heavily by the time I was upright.

Every head turned to see a red alien step out of a hatch in the wall which shut seamlessly behind him. Barely any lines that would’ve showed the outline of the door were visible on the sheet metal looking wall.

“Get up!” He demanded, his guttural clicks turning into English and other languages. Two other identical aliens moved to the groups, yelling at us to get up and beating those that were too slow about it. I got up slowly as one came near me, hitting me in the stomach without warning. It was like being hit by a train as all my breath left me and I flopped to the ground, trying desperately to regain the air and control over breathing I’d lost.

“Faster recruit!” He bellowed—I had no ideas if they were male or female. He punched me in the face, making me see stars as I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness. I fought against it.

You’re Salchar, the kid that dominated Mecha Assault One and Two, you’re not going to pass out in front of these people.
 
I pushed myself up with sheer will until I was standing. More than one person had passed out. Two aliens seemed identical with the first went through the grouping of humans. Pulling people from the floor and forcing them into position.

Everyone was breathing heavily as our lungs fought for air, and we wanted to slump to the floor as everything seemed heavy. A few dropped, they were set upon by the two wandering aliens and forced to stand.

The kids weren’t the only ones crying as reality was sinking in. After a few got beatings, no one else fell down.

“Get into two lines facing me!” The first barked, swatting someone that had paused to get their breath dropping like a tree in the wind. Slowly but surely people were forced into a position with kicks, punches and yelling.

“You are the worst recruits I have seen in my entire service!” He barked as I studied him beneath hooded eyes. I couldn’t help myself-he was the first alien I’d ever seen in the flesh. He didn’t look anything like the one that had announced the Earth’s forced recruitment, other than his humanoid like stature.

He had two arms and legs, but that was where the similarities ended. His pupils were slit vertically, his skin brilliant red scales. His four separate jaws with razor sharp teeth moved in a distinctly non-human way, but still his voice came over as unaccented English, then Korean, Japanese and every language of the people in the room. All I could think was;
 
well someone was wrong about them being green.
 
As I continued to study him and the others in the room with an almost clinical view, seeing them and realizing the implications but not letting the emotional feedback cloud my judgment. As I found myself coming to terms with the alien presence in front of me. The one barking orders started talking again. His body was like a statue as his eyes looked us with as much disdain as someone would look upon mold.

“That said, it is my job to make you acceptable members of the Mecha Corps. From now until the end of recruit training I am God, what I say is law.” My name is Master of Arms Taleel, you will refer to me as sir. Understood?”

There was a stuttering of yes’ thrown in with a few sirs. The alien’s eyes seemed to darken. He lashed out at the nearest person, a small girl, no more than twelve years old, sending her sprawling.

“Do you understand?” His voice dripping with utter disdain as if dealing with us was as terrible as dealing with crap on his shoe.

It took fifteen times before he was satisfied, all of us, including me getting a fist to the stomach. My throat felt raw and itchy from yelling mixed with the atmosphere.

“Strip.” After a few seconds, no one moved.

“Help them.” Taleel said to the other two. I was near the front as Taleel without pre-empt let lose a fist into my stomach, I stayed standing barely as I fought for control over my breathing.

“Strip!”

I made a small pile of my belongings in front of me, the children bawling as they were forcefully removed from their clothing, and beaten for their perceived insolence.
 
You’re a coward Salchar.
 
I thought to myself as I stood there and looked at my clothes as children were beaten just feet away from me.

They should be playing games, out with their friends and watching TV, not being beaten into soldiers.
 
I ranted in the safety in my mind, shame filling my body. The two assistants took our clothes as Taleel talked.

“I am in charge of getting you implanted and able to fight with a Mecha and maybe be of some damned use at the end of this expensive trip paid for by the citizens of the free planets.” His voice ended in a growl.

“You are my squad, if you step out of line I will deal with you personally.” His eyes stopped roving across the room, locking with me as a shiver went down my spine.

“Now we will begin implantation.” He said in a voice that brooked no argument.

“What is implantation?” I asked my mouth working before my brain caught up to it.

He stalked right up to my face. “What did you say?” He looked
 
happy
.

“What is…” there was a black rod in his arm, which he touched to my stomach, causing pain to radiate outwards across my body as I dropped.

“Get up!” He said kicking my head so I was disorientated, I tried to follow his commands as he punched me in the gut. I doubled over using the floor to support myself as He walked back in front of the squad and I quickly got to my feet.

“You will not bark out questions like an untamed dog. Am I understood?”

“Yes Sir!” We yelled, the fear audible in our voices, I barely held my fear in anymore.
 
I just want to be back with Mecha Tail.
 
I thought to myself, on the verge of tears, angry at myself for being so emotional.

“Neural implants and ports to upload to your Mecha’s as well as basic translator, sleep teaching implant, audio, visual recorders and a locator unit. Now come along.” A door opened into a room with two more aliens and a seat. Cords like the ones that had been attached to the boxes, but, smaller rested around the seat. Everyone in the room automatically moved away from the doorway at the somehow ominous room.

“Get back in line!” Taleel was sounding as if he was already regretting a decision he’d made. Sighing he brandished a prod that crackled. The other two bared identical prods as they again herded us like cattle into lines again.

The young ones were crying as the three silent aliens beat them into line, only making the crying louder. I looked at the ground in embarrassment; to help would just get me beaten more.

“You first since you’re so curious.” My face automatically turned into a calm mask.
 
The facial and mannerism trainers were worth their weight in gold
 
I thought to myself as I shrugged non-committal, as I wanted nothing more than to run away and hide in a corner.

“Very well.” I said, feeling none of the confidence I spoke with. Celebrity training that had come with being in Mecha Tail the biggest gaming team in the world had meant that I could wholly control my outside appearance.

Hoping that I was still in control of my facial appearance and mannerism, instead of showing how scared I was to the point of nausea—I walked into the room. Which only got worse as the door shut behind me, guess it’s what I get for opening my big mouth.

Inside there were another two aliens and a chair

“Please take a seat, or you will be forced to.” They said in bored tones.

I hung my head, not saying anything trying to cover myself as I sat down on the cold chair. The aliens grabbed my limbs forcing them down into clamps as I tried to push them off; it was if I was trying to fight a tank with a pool noodle.

As soon as I was secured they stepped back as more clamps covered my body and I was laid out on my back perfectly vertical. Panic started to settle in as I couldn’t move an inch and the arms around the chair in my peripheral vision started to move.

Arms set to work on my shoulder pulling off the bandage as it felt like they’d poured liquid metal in my shoulder.

“Three years will be added to your military contract.”

“I don’t want it added!” I yelled through gritted teeth, just barely holding onto consciousness with the alien atmosphere.

“Then you’re useless to us with an arm that doesn’t work. We might as well just throw you out of an airlock.” The alien that had been addressing me said, their face so close I could smell the rotting pieces of food stuck between its razor sharp teeth.

“Do you want to be spaced?” He asked me, his eyes boring into me. I looked away, shame filling me. It was clear they didn’t care how many extra years I got added.

“No.”

“Then you will have three years added to your military contract. Yes?”

“Yes.” I spat, self-loathing filling me.

My shoulder burned even more as I heard a high pitched humming which increased as I tried to turn and see where the noise was coming from.

I screamed as the humming changed pitch and I could feel the humming as they cut into my flesh and spine.
 
I’m going to die on this table with drills gouging through my back.
 
I thought to myself as I cried, feeling my bladder release in fear.

“Disgusting creatures, they spew waste on themselves at the pain. They are a waste of our time and training.” I half heard one alien say to another as I cried and screamed.

Now before I’d heard of a spinal tap where someone gets a needle into their spine to gather spinal fluid. The person had volunteered for it and said it had been the most painful experience they’d ever had. This was worse than I had ever imagined that to be as drills with heads the size of a straw went into my spine down its length. My body was not my own as drugs relaxed my body, but not my nerves as they were grafted to implants. I lost my voice as I silently screamed, my body finally releasing me as I blacked out.

I opened my eyes, feeling returning to my body as I looked around. The alien stuck its face in mine, pushing my head around before releasing me.

It grunted something in it’s guttural language to the other and looking away with a bored look, as if me living or dying was a non-issue.
 
I’m still alive.
 
I thought angrily to myself.
 
Just wait until I’m free.
 
I thought as I regretted being conscious as things were shoved through the open wounds in my back and into the holes that had been drilled there. They had mated my nerves with an external port.

There was a spray of something cold as I felt the area around the wound numb, then it turned to lancing fire as it had with my shoulder and my body fought the restraints as I arched in pain, every muscle flexing, my jaw shut too tight to even scream as it felt as if I’d been electrified and then it was over. Then the table was becoming a chair again as arms cleared away the waste I left behind. An alien bodily shoved me at another door.

“You have twenty seconds to clean yourself.” I touched the back of my neck, finding solid hexagons lining my spine. I quickly moved my hand away from the oddity as my pain was replaced with shame at having peed myself.

“You have eighteen.”

I walked in the room, a shower activated, it smelt like battery acid, but it was liquid. It felt like battery acid as my skin interacted with it. I held in my screams, my throat hurting as I cleaned my lower half, my genitals feeling as if they would melt off as my skin was raw. The shower turned off as a door back to the main area my group was in opened.