Ichor

General (Part I)

Year 11 - General
Planet Primae

° ° ° °

"General, you're retiring?" Percy asked almost incredulously. It would have been had his tone not changed its inflection.

"My spouse and I have decided to focus on family more. I need to be there for my kids. They can't be wondering if I'll come home or not every time I'm sent out on a mission."

It was quite shocking to hear because Percy knew General Morgan Rook loved the job. And that confession of loyalty to family before all else went down in history as the fifth time Ichor smiled.

"That's very noble of you, General. I wish you the best."

"And I you... General Ichor."

Percy wasn't able to contain his shock that time. "Me? Why? I haven't been here nearly as long as the others. I don't have as much experience. And I just finished the mentorship program."

"Ichor, do you know why we implement that program?"

"To help kids? To gain more recruits? To test our teaching abilities?"

"To test your judgment," Morgan answered. "Who you choose uncovers motivation. How you teach reveals your skillset. But if you can handle all of the responsibilities that come with mentorship to support your mentee and teach them the things that will best benefit their future, then we know you have the judgment it takes to be a general. You clearly have the capability if you've made it this far. We just needed to solidify that you are the right person for the job."

"Thank you, General." Percy replied sincerely.

"In a few days, that title will belong to you," the general said with pride. "You may call me Morgan if you wish," Morgan offered with a pleased smirk as if to say "my work here is done and to my satisfaction".

Percy considered it for a short moment before shaking his head. "With all due respect, I will always see you as my general. I'm not sure if I could bring myself to call you otherwise."

Morgan gave a real chuckle at that. "Understood, Ichor. I do have one request from you, though."

"Anything, General." While he meant it, Percy immediately regretted those choice words.

"This year and no later I want you to run for Commander."

If Percy's eyes grew any larger they'd pop out of his head.

Morgan continued before Percy could get a word in. "Let's not kid ourselves here. You have what it takes. You were the best fighter as a lieutenant. And you have the respect in the ranks to gain their favor. The choice is solely with Chaos, of course, but he takes advice from the other generals and they from their majors and they from their colonels and so forth. This army needs a strong leader. You can be that leader, Ichor. You practically are already."

"I wouldn't go that far-"

"I would. And many of my former colleagues, your new peers, would agree wholeheartedly."

Percy stood in silent contemplation for a while. When he started to slowly nod his head, Morgan's face split into a grin.

"What would I need to do to run?" Percy asked.

"It's actually pretty simple, but only generals are aware of all the criteria. The process takes a year. You'd need to win a fight against every single colonel, major, and general from each division, which shouldn't be hard considering you're the Chaos Competition Champion. Then you must demonstrate Socrates' cardinal virtues: wisdom, temperance/moderation, bravery, justice, and piety in separate acts. Doing more than one in the same act is great, but five acts must be done and each must highlight a specific virtue. Finally, you must make the solemn oath to Chaos and survive his blessing."

"Survive his blessing? Does it hurt that much?" Percy's tone was joking; however, he was dead serious.

"Not sure," Morgan admitted. "The last Commander we had died four billion years ago. But there have been people who've gone through the steps yet were denied the blessing by Chaos because they 'wouldn't come out of it in one piece'."

"This is really motivating me to run for Commander," Percy deadpanned.

"Oh, don't be like that. Chaos recruited you. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't think you had a shot at being Commander. Just tell me you'll try."

Percy sighed in reluctance. "Fine. I'll try. If I pass and don't die, I'll let you know."

"That's the spirit!" Morgan cheered. "You should write a speech to give at your promotional ceremony that announces your decision to run for Commander. Get that colonel of yours to help you. He's got... a way with words."

Sea-green eyes lit up in amusement. That was one of the first things he said to Mason too.

"Will do, General," he said, shaking hands to seal the deal. A few days later, Morgan retired and Percy was established as General Ichor of the A Division. Mason was promoted to fill in the vacant major slot and was quickly named as Percy's second. The only thing left to do was run for Commander. How hard could that be?