Intermission

From the beginning, I understood the true nature of this mission. It was not for conquest, invasion, colonization, or even reconnaissance, as the official explanation for this task given stated. No, it was for the Fleet of Unbroken Conviction to have a respite, however short or long it may be.
Indeed we were well-deserving of such a reward, for we had fought nonstop for several solar cycles, engaging in numerous offensive campaigns across Humanity’s worlds. All were put to the torch, of course, although I confess that the reasoning for the necessity of some of these ground operations eluded me. Many warriors had been sacrificed for gains I could not see as tangible, or even worthy of such sacrifice in the first place.
However, that was in the past, and for now, I was relishing in the present. Our lance, which at this time consisted of Mik, Tes, and Basab, along with two more Unggoy and another Kig-Yar whose names escape me, as well as two minors, steadily made its way across the landscape. One was Ythar, who had been with us for quite some time, in fact longer than I can recall for most of our minors. The other minor was Rahn ‘Osharee.
We walked through a wide open, flat grassland, the short green blades barely reaching beyond my toes. I breathed in deeply as a cool breeze descended upon us from the northwest. In the distance, purple mountains stood in silence, almost as if they were created from the brushstrokes of an artist, who used this world as his canvas. The warm, yet not oppressively hot, twin suns of this system draped the sea of grass in a bright dose of solar rays.
Ostensibly, the fleet was in this system on a search-and-destroy mission, to find, fix, and eliminate Human colonies wherever they lie. We had received word that there was a Human presence in this system, but alas, it seemed initial reports were wrong. However, our supreme commander was slow to withdraw from this system. I suspect its natural beauty enticed him to delay our departure, to give his warriors a sort of brief shore leave. I did not protest my superior’s actions or reasoning for such a diversion.
“Sir, why are we here?” asked Rahn, who was profusely emitting a wet, hacking cough.
“We are here to seek out the enemy and destroy him,” I replied.
“But sir, there are no Humans present anywhere in the system,” claimed Ythar. “The Everlasting Salvation’s sensors can confirm this: no Humans whatsoever. Yet this is our third day on this planet.”
“And you’re not enjoying yourself yet?” asked Mik. As he said that, our lance and several others ‘patrolling’ with us happened upon a river, gently flowing throughout the grassland. We stopped at its banks, and took the time to rest.
“Look,” I said, gesturing to the view of the dark blue river water with one of my hands. The mountains were still in the distance, imposingly beautiful. The sky was cloudless, a light blue, the two suns in the sky shining brightly. The wind blew gently upon the blades of grass. There were no explosions, no discharge of small arms, no screaming, no scent of charred flesh or spilled blood. There was calm, beauty, peace.
“Indulge, my comrades,” I declared. “For you have earned such an intermission in our bloody business.”
Category:The Weekly