Ichor

Private (Part II)

Year 2 - Private
Planet Primae

° ° ° °

"What's that for?" Mason asked regarding the alarm.

"Battle," Percy answered, surprised Mason hadn't been called to a mission yet. His old squad had gone on at least a dozen missions.

The two ran back to their bunks and threw on their armor. In five minutes flat, their entire squad was standing at attention in front of the transport portal.

"Listen up! You're new. You're green. For all intents and purposes, you're babies. Don't get in the way. Don't die. Stick in pairs if you can. Don't be a hero. None of you are heroes. Move out!"

Percy didn't think that was a very good pep talk, but he knew it had to be said. No one in this squad was prepared for what they would face on a planet few, if any, had ever been to. He noticed Mason fiddling with his broad sword. Actually, almost everyone in his squad was doing some nervous tick of their own. It dawned on him that they'd probably never seen a real battle, in the army or otherwise. The army must have been their first experience with true combat. Considering this, Percy held a little more sympathy. He knew how nervous he was prior to his first battle. So before they reached the portal, Percy decided to do what he supposedly did best—give them hope.

"Heads up," he shouted, "Fear down. See you at dinner."

Ok, maybe he wasn't great at pep talks either, but a few of his fellow squad members seemed to get a hold of themselves. Mason, for one, stood taller and had new determination set in his stance. With a deep breath, they all marched through the portal.

° ° ° °

Planet Fiiin

The Fates must have been in a good mood because as soon as they stepped out of the portal, they landed in the ocean. It was Planet Fiiin, known for its wide, watery landscapes. The people had adapted to living underwater while still breathing air, much like whales. There were also prominent land-dwelling communities with an extensive boat network, comparable to a taxi system. But this was not a major problem for the Chaos Army. Part of everyone's daily training was how to fight in water. However, they'd never practiced in the ocean before.

"Soldiers!" their Captain called out.

While the Second Lieutenants, trained the Cadets, the First Lieutenants oversaw squads of ten Privates each. Captains were in charge of twenty squads total, two platoons of ten. Colonels led two companies, each with four platoons. And Major Generals, more commonly referred to as Majors, ran a battalion of six companies. The General of each division worked with three Majors, one of which was their official second in command. The Commander oversaw all twenty-four Generals of each division and only reported to Chaos. The last Commander they'd had was from some four billion years ago. No one had managed to earn the job since.

Percy's captain quickly debriefed them as everyone was treading in the water. "Our mission is to reclaim the ships. Pirates have taken over and are holding the royal family hostage. We're on rescue ops. Travel quickly and quietly. If you reach the royal family, get them into the water and swim them to shore. Guard them with your life."

A collective "Yes, sir!" rang through the ranks. Lieutenants broke off with their respective squads and gave out orders. Percy was under Lieutenant Ramos's command.

"Alright. I hope you all have strong lungs because we're going under."

"What do you mean, sir?" a private asked. Percy didn't know their name.

"We've been assigned to the underside of the ship. We need to look for weak spots to pry open, but we can't sink it just yet."

"And how are we supposed to do that, Sean?"

"It's Lieutenant to you, baby brother, but to answer your question, we're going to do organized dives with crowbars. Test out some metal. If it gives easily, mark it with an 'X' using one of these red markers. Works underwater."

Not much else was said. They all quickly got to work. Technically, Percy didn't need to come up for air, but he was trying to keep his secrets close to his chest, so he came up for air anyway. After the blood trick he used to save Darleen's life, the officers figured he had more unknown powers, yet nothing was confirmed because Percy wasn't willing to share them just yet. But then he noticed someone struggling below him and to the right, a little closer to the shore than the boat they were around.

A private in his squad that he hadn't met yet got their leg stuck to a chain. The chain had a large weight pulling the private down fast. Percy could tell the man's partner was trying to pull him back up. Disobeying orders, Percy swam towards the duo. As he approached, he realized the situation was much worse than he first thought. Percy ignored his lieutenant's screams to get back to his post, and to his surprise, so did Mason.

The weight attached turned out to be none other than a depth charge. Depth charges blew up when they reached a certain distance underwater. It was probably released by the pirates when they saw the Chaos Army show up. Percy didn't know how deep this one had to get to, but he didn't want to take any chances. Percy quickly pulled air bubbles around the three of them as they held onto each other and a separate one for the man sinking.

"The chain! It won't budge!" the partner shouted as she coughed up water.

"Mason, take her to the surface. I'll get him out."

When Mason moved to grab her arm she screamed, "No! I'm not leaving Jerry behind!"

As a split-second decision, Percy agreed and pulled the other two down with him. Using the water to propel them, the trio soon reached the sinking man whose name was evidently Jerry.

"Help! Please! Val!"

"Mason, Val," Percy ordered, "take his arms. When I release his leg, kick to the surface and swim away. Don't stop until you reach the shore."

Mason and Val did as instructed while Percy went deeper and examined the chain. It was made of Chaotic Titanium, so using their Chaotic Chromium Alloy weapons would take too long. After quick consideration, he heated up the water around one link to boiling and pushed it through the metal pores, forcing the link to expand. Within seconds, the chain snapped and Jerry was freed.

Percy had the water push the bomb slowly back up to the surface as to not accidentally set it off. By the time everyone, including the royal family, was safely on the shore and the pirates were in custody, Percy lifted the bomb above the surface, balancing it on top of a conical disk of water.

T - 60 seconds

People and soldiers alike stared in awe before the captain and lieutenants realized how dire the situation was. Unless it was deactivated, the bomb would explode in one minute.

T - 45 seconds

Percy strained against the weight of the bomb. Holding it up with water was more difficult than he thought it would be. Now that his secret was out, he promised himself to practice his water powers more.

T - 30 seconds

The bomb squad moved as fast as they could but only reached it with thirty seconds left to deactivate the bomb. They worked furiously to make sense of the plethora of tangled wires

T - 10 seconds

Nothing they did seemed to stop the clock. The captain was about to order everyone to safety, but Percy had a different idea. He didn't want to hurt the marine life, but he couldn't elevate the bomb any higher, and letting it explode so close to other people was not an option.

T - 5 seconds

Percy plunged the bomb back into the water's depths, far away from the underwater city, and dove in after it. He pushed the bomb further down as he tried to fortify the surface tension. He hoped to minimize the impact to those above.

T - 1 second

Percy prayed to Chaos. A silent prayer to help protect the soldiers.

T - 0 seconds

The bomb went off.