The Hand of Titans Ch. 03

Drayk fell asleep as the spaceship raced across the blackness of space. He always took the opportunity to rest whenever he could because he was always on the go. His days were always filled with one mission or another. He heard his troops talking as he slept except for Ashor. She must have been thinking about this waste of a mission as did he.

The constant vibrations of the spaceship as it charged through the black void rocked his body in his chair. A dream of a battle many years ago in Manyui played out in his mind. He had been a young Lieutenant then and had been eager to show his superiors that he could lead a group of soldiers against the Me'ria. It had been him and a team of ten that descended into the Me'ria infested city of Manyui on the planet Gfak.

They had made it into the city's limits after a few days of navigating the hard terrain. The team was dressed in rags and torn clothes like many of the inhabitants on the planet. They blended in quickly with other people and did not stand out. They saw that many of the Manyuians worked tirelessly as they built facilities for the Me'ria.

Drayk's team had been tasked with finding out what the Me'ria were building. The assumption was nuclear weapons or warheads that were going to create mass destruction on planets. On Drayk's team was only Ashor at the time and no one else from his current crew. She was his second Lt.

The Me'ria were not in full force in Manyui which allowed Drayk and his team to penetrate the city. There had to be about 10 of them and yet they still were able to subdue the city of a million people. Drayk and his soldiers posed as slaves that were working on one of the facilities and snuck inside. They made their way through various rooms where experiments were conducted on the Manyunians and alien races. Many of the victims were still alive and looked at Drayk and his team with resignation in their eyes.

One unknown alien lay on a surgical table with its entrails hung above it and Drayk could see that its organs still worked. It made Drayk sick to his stomach to see the creature's intestines hung on a hook above it. The creature had stared at Drayk with such a look of defeat and sadness that Drayk had wanted to end the poor thing's life right then and there. But, he couldn't. He had a mission that he had to complete.

With each room that they entered, Drayk and his team's anger rose and they looked at the monstrosities that were being done to the Manyunians and alien races. He wanted to kill every single one of the Me'ria on this planet without any mercy.

They finally arrived at a room where two Me'ria soldiers stood on guard. Drayk and his team attacked as one and they were able to kill the two guards without too much of a ruckus. They removed both of the Me'rian guards' heads to make sure that they were dead. Ashor then opened the sealed door with a Buster Rifle which would punch a hole through anything no matter the surface. The door flew off the hinges and they entered inside.

Drayk's mouth fell open as he looked at the massive warheads that were stockpiled in the rooms. The warheads were as big as buildings and he knew that one alone could probably wipe out an entire city. He looked over at Ashor who also had a look of fear in her eyes. This was beyond their imagination even though they had expected something like this.

Drayk was just about to radio in his findings when the Me'ria attacked. They came swooping into the room without a word and attacked Drayk and his team. Drayk saw that the Me'ria fought with swords and electric blades in an effort not to hit the warheads and blow them all to smithereens. Drayk and his team fought with their own charged blades of electricity. The battle raged for what felt like hours as there were so many Me'ria soldiers. It had to be the entire squad of them. Blood and guts flew all throughout the room as Drayk and his team fought.

He saw several of his men fall to the blades of the Me'ria. Screams and cries echoed in the room. Ashor fought with a ferocity that Drayk had seen many times in battle. She moved with such agility and gracefulness that it would appear to an outsider that she was dancing while fighting. Me'ria heads dislodged from shoulders as Ashor's blades found purchase. She was covered in blood from head to toe but she did not stop fighting.

Drayk fought against a recalcitrant Me'ria soldier that swung its electric blades ferociously against Drayk's armored suit. He defended himself with his own blades and fought back with his own blood boiling inside of him. With a roar in the Me'ria soldier's face, Drayk plunged his blades deep inside of it. The blades tore through the Me'ria's suit and blood poured out in a flood. He then pulled the blades out and took off the alien's head in quick succession.

There was silence in the room as the fighting had stopped. Drayk was panting from the exertion and put his hands on his knees. He looked around the room and saw that all of the Me'ria soldiers were dead including 8 of his troops. Only Ashor and Briorien stood. Briorien was a veteran soldier that was skilled in hand-to-hand combat. His bulky frame was covered in blood. He looked like he was going to pass out.

Drayk looked at his fallen soldiers and felt guilty about their deaths. He had charged in here without fully scoping out the rest of the facility. He should have thought through his plan of action. Maybe his men would still be alive.

Drayk radioed to Major Lyton his findings and his location. Within two hours, a battalion of soldiers descended on Manyui. The people were freed and cheered at the soldiers' mighty presence.

Major Lyton strolled into the room and looked at the carnage on the floor and walls. His eyes were vacant and did not register a single emotion. Lyton was a man who had seen way too many battles and deaths to feel anything any longer. He was immune to chaos and carnage.

Lyton was the personification of the military's might with his 6'2 frame, broad shoulders, and stocky build. He had a short flattop haircut that made his face even harder. There was a scar that ran from his left temple to his chin. It was from the blade of a Me'ria soldier many eons ago.

Lyton walked up to Drayk and his two remaining soldiers and congratulated them on their infiltration and discovery. He told them that the warheads were going to be dissembled by a team of scientists for study and removal. They could not be taken off-planet.

Drayk and his two soldiers were sent back to base for some RR but it was not a happy victory. His men were dead and he was not in a celebratory mood.

This mission stayed with Drayk for many years and would pop up in his mind when least expected. He knew it was a failure on his part even though they had prevented the destruction of many cities with the discovery of the warheads but he had been too hasty in his planning. He made a vow to always think strategically during a mission to save his team's lives and he had stuck with that vow ever since.

Drayk could feel the spaceship descending and he knew that they had arrived back at base. He woke up and stretched his limbs as the spaceship hit the ground. His team unbuckled themselves from their chairs and they all disembarked. Drayk strode towards the Major's command post with Ashor by his side.

"The rest of you get some rest and we will regroup tomorrow," Drayk said to the rest of the team.

Nuum saluted him comically then did an about-face. Drayk laughed. Always the joker, he thought with a smile on his face. Briji grunted in response and marched off. Fio walked next to Nuum back to their barracks.

Drayk and Ashor entered the Major's office. Lyton was standing over a big rectangular table where a virtual screen showed a map of a city. Drayk glanced at it but didn't think too much of it. His major will tell him in due time what this new mission was about. Hopefully not another waste of time.

"Cpt. Drayk and Lt. Ashor, welcome. Was there anything of note at Vyeraf Forest?" Mj. Lyton asked. He was a man that always got down to business. He never had time for small talk. Drayk didn't think he ever had small talk with the Major.

Drayk laughed. "If plenty of trees and plants is what you want to hear, then yes. Otherwise, it was fuck-all."

Lyton smiled. "I see. Thanks for your eloquent statement, Cpt."

"Come on Major, why were we sent there? No bullshit about radioactivity. The truth," Drayk asked as he sat down in a chair. Ashor sat as well.

Lyton looked at his Captain. "I know how you must feel. It is a waste of you and your team's time but Senator Colbix Jenzen needed the area scouted for a potential hub for him and his women."

A scowl came to Drayk's face and he looked over at Ashor. She was angry as fuck and her hands gripped the seat-rests.

"What?!" Drayk asked angrily. "We were sent there to find a new home for that fuck and his whores?!"

Lyton kept a straight face and looked at Drayk. It pained him to reveal the truth which was why he had said it was a scouting mission for radioactivity. He knew that Drayk would react how he was right now.

"Yes. Colbix has expanded his harem of women and wants to find a safe space off the planet where he could sell his wares to everyone in the galaxy. He wants to start with that forest and expand out so that he could have the entire planet."

"A planet of whores," Ashor said with a laugh. "How delightful."

Lyton's lips twitched as he almost smiled but the look on Drayk's face stopped the smile. He was visibly angry.

"Major, what the fuck?!" Drayk said angrily.

Lyton sighed. "I am sorry, Drayk but you know that the military answers to Colbix and the other Senators. We do what they want no matter how ridiculous the task is. They pay our salaries and keep this base operational from the funds they give us. We can't afford to say no to anything they request."

"Ok. Then why my team? Why the fuck did we have to scout for this new whore planet?"

Lyton kept his face blank. "Colbix specifically asked that your team do it."

Ashor let out a loud guffaw. Drayk looked at her with a meaner scowl. Ashor's laugh stopped instantly and she coughed.

"That bald-headed waxy-skinned shit! He thinks he could fuck with me and my team!" Drayk shouted.

"You knew this was going to happen, Drayk," Lyton said softly. "You can't offend the man at a council meeting and not expect to be fucked with. You knew that Colbix was not going to let that remark go."

Drayk had to smile in spite of himself. During a council meeting, Colbix had talked about he wanted to help the good people of Huron. Drayk who had always hated the man due to his shifty smile and unjust influence over many made a remark that Colbix and his whores could take a one-way spaceship to Uruq to end the war against the Me'ria by blowing and fucking the Me'ria. He went on to say that Me'ria would enjoy Colbix's gift of gab as they put their cocks into his mouth.

Colbix's waxy face went beet red as the crowd laughed and guffawed at Drayk's joke. Even Mj. Lyton had smiled. Drayk grinned at the bald-headed fuck as he sneered at Drayk.

Yeah, he should have expected this, Drayk thought. His anger drained away and he laughed out loud.

"Hey, I was speaking fact! Colbix and his whores could put an end to this war if they just gave the Me'ria some pussy and head especially Colbix," Drayk said with a grin.

Ashor laughed and even Lyton smiled. Drayk didn't think he ever saw or heard the Major laugh in the five years that he knew him. Drayk laughed at his own joke.

"Be it as it may, Colbix wants to see you and Ashor at his compound. He requested both of your presence as soon as you arrived back in Huron," Lyton said.

"What does that shit want?" Drayk asked as his scowl returned.

"I'm not sure, Captain, but you two better get a move on."