Year 20 - Commander
Planet Earth
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There was screaming outside the command tent. Percy wasted no time rushing out into the fray, the others right behind him. In the three seconds of delay and five seconds to exit the tent, Andrew was zipped into a flashback as clear as the waters of Primae. In other words, very clear.
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Year 8 - Colonel
Planet Zikstag
"RUN!! GO! GO! GO!" Colonel Andrew Faren ordered.
Andrew had been stationed on Zikstag for nearly nine months. It may have only been one month back on Primae, but it had felt like forever. He wanted a proper shower. He wanted to be dry. He wanted to be out of the mud. He just wanted this mission to be over with.
Zikstag was a jungle in most places. A rainy, sometimes muddy jungle. Ironically, the government was not too corrupt, not under tyranny or dictatorship or even a monarchy. The people were decently well off and they had peaceful relations with neighboring nations. So why was the Chaos Army called in? Because one idiot, just one, decided to bring an invasive species of quintentials.
What is a quinential? It's a creature that starts as a cute little reptile with five limbs, all of equal flexibility and dexterity. Well, that little creature soon turns into a very, very large not-so-cute monster with five muscular appendages of equal flexibility and dexterity. On top of that, spiked protuberances grow on its back as it ages. Oh, and guess what? They undergo a modified version of asexual reproduction. So you only need one of the devils to get more. In summary, Colonel Faren was not having a good time.
His companies were tasked with hunting down and exterminating every single quintential. You'd think it would be easy, but no. They had to track the large monsters that are scarily easy at hiding in the jungle, penetrate its steel-like scales while not getting killed, and ensure that its offspring are taken care of.
Andrew's top scouts reported an estimated ten left by the ninth month and located a cluster of five. Under the cover of night, they were trying to take out the five at once in their den, which resembled more of a large pit. A promising stealth soldier, Private Travis Stoll, volunteered to sneak in and kill as many as possible in their sleep. He succeeded in killing three of them and was about to kill a fourth when someone lit a flare. Andrew couldn't describe how angry he was or how stupid that person was, but they were transferred to a different division the instant they got back. It nearly cost Private Stoll's life and the lives of his first company who were on this job while the second company stayed behind.
When the flare went off, the remaining two monsters woke up instantly. Private Stoll managed to take down the fourth one he was near, but that drew the attention of the last one. Faster than Andrew's eyes could see, Private Stoll was dodging its limbs and scaling the wall of the den. By the grace of Chaos and his own unbelievable abilities, Private Stoll was able to get out safely. Seeing as the last one was hot in his tale, Andrew gave the order to run for it.
Usually, he'd have them stand their ground and fight, but the open clearing around the den made them easy picking even against only one of them. It was better to scatter into the dense forest and send in targeted strikes against the monster. Everyone made it past the tree line and took cover as the quintential let out an ear-splitting roar.
"I can still sneak up and take it down if it's distracted, Colonel," Private Stoll said.
Any other private and Andrew would've dismissed the idea. Any other private and Andrew would have ordered them to retreat further into the tree line. But this was not any other private. This was a young soldier who looked as battle-hardened as some captains he knew. This was a soldier whose eyes shone only determination and whose skills were proven just moments before. So Andrew gave a solid nod and saw the private dash off.
"I need archers to send volleys up high and spears to be directed high too!" Andrew barked.
He knew the final blow would come from below the midline, so directing the creature's attention to its upper half would leave their lower extremities more exposed.
The plan worked perfectly, the first good thing that happened this whole mission. Quicker than the eye could process, the private slipped under the monster's guard and efficiently landed a fatal blow. The ordeal probably took under two minutes, but Andrew watched everything in what felt like slow motion, so he couldn't give an accurate estimate.
Nonetheless, the monsters were dead and the mission was almost complete. It only took another month to hunt and kill the remaining five. And because they didn't need to handle clean-up, the companies got to go home immediately.
From then on, Andrew kept a close eye on Travis Stoll. Time and time again, the new soldier surpassed all expectations and proved to be an effective leader as well as a stealth soldier. And it came a day when an advanced promotion was justified, but that's for another time.
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Year 20 - Commander
Planet Earth
Andrew's delay was over as the sun hit his face when exiting the command tent. He saw Ichor giving out orders to the cannon loaders of his division and his second quickly rushing to the Commander's side. Andrew had only just made it to the pair when Travis did something completely idiotic.
YOU ARE READING
Ichor
Fanfiction[Completed] 🪶 He had no choice. He could either die on the streets or join the Chaos Army. You can imagine which option was more appealing. So Perseus "Percy" Jackson left Earth and started a new life. No one knew who he was, but they grew to know...
