Starwalker | The Alura Trilogy, Book 2 [She-Ra 2018] ✔️

24 | Through the Lion's Den

Yet you should not be surprised to know of my disobedience in this regard. No matter how you attempt to dress me up, I am a war criminal, and I disobeyed laws left and right during my time with the Horde.

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Beck stepped into Hordak's sanctum that evening with a sharp inhale. She'd managed to quell the riots; this should gain the dark lord's favor. Carmen reassured her that Hordak usually only tossed his tools at Shads when he got upset, so she didn't have to worry about his behavior.

As she waited for Hordak to leave his lab, Beck shoved her hands in her pockets. It saddened her how the Horde treated its soldiers. Beck lived through the hell of training – her teachers would beat her if she didn't get the correct time on speed challenges, or make her drink blood if she complained about her thirst.

She thought being promoted to lieutenant would have been better; she was now under Carmen's command, and the felinetta was infinitely less brutal. But the restraints of her position were like manacles around Beck's wrists. No one was allowed to bring foreign books, or to write aside from official documentation.

Hordak exited his sanctum, and Beck dropped to her knees. The alien spoke, his angular features glinting in the dim light. "Lieutenant Beck, daughter of Luz."

"Lord Hordak," Beck replied softly.

"I commend you for your handling of the Fright Zone's riots last night," Hordak said, screwing something into place with a hex driver. "It reassures me to know that someone around here can manage their inferiors." He punctuated this sentence with a grunt.

Beck would have smiled if she could. Little did Hordak know that she had caused the riots for the opportunity. "Thanks," she drawled. "I tried, since order's important around here."

"Indeed," Hordak replied. "I am in need of another Force Captain. Your talent on the battlefield is crucial; the territories we conquered in the east have begun to stir. I require someone to retain order, ensure that riots such as these do not happen again."

Perfect. Beck couldn't resist a grin this time. If she was a Force Captain, she would not only have access to confidential records, but she would report directly to Shadow Weaver herself. "Yes, my lord," she said. "I'd be honored to accept this rank."

Hordak made a hmph sound. "Rise, Force Captain Beck," he said, his smooth voice pleased. Beck did as he said, and he presented her with a yellow badge. A green symbol, the Horde's wings, was stamped into place.

Beck took it, still beaming. "Thank you, my lord." Then she left the room, satisfaction brewing in her chest.

✧✧✧

Carmen waited for her lieutenant to exit the hall. When Beck finally did, the first thing Carmen noticed was the badge on her chest. Her mouth dropped open. "Beck! Hordak promoted ya?"

Beck grinned from ear to ear, swiping her pale hair out of her eyes. "You've got that right, Carmen. You can't order me around anymore."

Carmen snorted. "You still gotta take orders from my lady, Beck. And Lord Hordak, 'course."

"Speaking of Shadow Weaver," Beck said, walking in a straight march, "how is she since she got back?"

Carmen sighed. "Ain't too happy. She's in her room 'bout now – had to get Li'l Miss Adora all cleaned up and ready for bed."

A faint smile played at the corners of Beck's lips; Carmen couldn't shake the odd feeling she got at her lieutenant's promotion. Though her past subordinate had likely saved the Fright Zone from a coup, it was right strange that she'd become Carmen's equal over it – especially since Carmen herself had done the same thing within two years of recruitment and gotten promoted long afterward.

Carmen breathed a sigh. "I don't get it," she said as they walked down the halls.

"What do you mean?" Beck asked.

"I don't get why they rioted," Carmen said. "We feed 'em, give 'em a new life and a way forward."

Beck snorted at this. "You seriously believe that?"

Carmen's face grew hot. "Yeah," she said. "You don't?"

"I don't know," the older woman answered, gazing ahead with a haunted look in her dark eyes. "Drinking blood isn't my idea of humane treatment."

Carmen's stomach turned at the memory; in training, she'd continued along the course till she passed out from dehydration. "It don't matter," she said softly. "Those people shouldn't've died."

"They would have died anyway," Beck said, her eyes distant. "They're tools, Carmen. Means to an end for Hordak. You know how many soldiers we lost in Delvala?"

"Beck, that's right treasonous."

"It's also true."

"So you're likin' the riots?"

Beck barked a laugh. "Hell, no," she said. "But they say something, Carmen. Something about how we've been treated. I stopped them because I didn't want the whole Fright Zone to pay the price for what a few people did."

"They wouldn't've. Only the shooters'll be punished."

"There were more people involved than those in the crossfire."

"So?"

"So, unless things change, they'll keep happening." Beck's voice was cold. "And who are we kidding? Nothing'll give. Nobody cares, Carmen."

Carmen bit her lip. This sort of candidness from a Horde officer was rare, and shocking. "Then why'd you join?"

Beck looked downward, her expression sad. Her voice was soft when she replied. "'Cause I'm a tool, too."

She walked down the hall away from Carmen, silently.

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Did you know...

- Despite being a comparatively minor character, Zeka/Beck is one of my favorite OCs ever. I didn't originally intend for her to be so complex, especially given how little page space she had in Starwalker: Prime, but that's not how things shook out in the end. Her character struggle is also very personal to me because of my experiences with being used and manipulated by people in the past.

- One thing I noticed about Starwalker: Prime was that Carmen was a little too oblivious to what was happening in the Horde. I tried to strike a balance between her feeling emotionally conflicted and her repressing those feelings out of respect for her god. That's an issue a lot of cult members in real life faced, and I tried to represent that in a fair way.

Tell me what you think...

- What does Beck mean when she says she's a tool?

- Why do you think Carmen excuses everything bad that the Horde does? Could there be multiple reasons?