Frenzy & Torch

Chapter 47: Shifting Chess Pieces

Xitanker stormed down his flagship's main corridor with his Uzi locked and loaded. To say he was seething would be the understatement of the new decade.

"Your Majesty, please stay calm!" his trailing servant pleaded with him. "You'll only make the staff quit if you shoot anybody!"

"Oh, don't worry, I won't shoot anybody. Not unless they tell me how the fuck they're gonna clean up this goddamn cocksucking motherfucking"—he kicked open the door to the war room— "clusterfuck of all goddamned fucking time!"

All the senior officers in the room tensed up when they saw the menacing submachine gun. One general gently raised his hands to calm Xitanker. "Relax. Just... relax."

"What the fuck is going on down there?!"

"We had to retrograde from Sector Lima."

"That's a fancy way of saying we had to run like rabbits to keep from getting anally raped! Do you also have a nice way of telling somebody you saw their girlfriend get spit-roasted in a McDodo's parking lot?!"

"It was a setback, that happens all the time in war. Our troops did their best!"

"And their best wasn't fucking good enough!" Xitanker yelled.

"Look, the frontline regressed a little bit there." He briefly looked with dismay at the planning table as the division withdrew on the holographic map. "But we're holding steady in sectors Kilo and Mike!"

Xitanker stood closer to the map and saw the pincer movement the Japanese nearly completed. "A pincer movement?! They were gonna encircle us that fast?!"

"It's a counter-offensive, the momentum always slows down and leaves the attacker vulnerable! We'll get them in the next counter-attack!"

"Just yesterday we took the place over and had the Japanese government by the balls, now we're backpedaling! Fucking backpedaling!"

The general lost his composure and retorted. "They have a fucking nerd-turned-Nihilanth and a goddamn mecha on their side! What the fuck are we supposed to do against that?!"

"Stop being a bunch of bitches and deal with it!" Xitanker roared. "That's what I'm fucking paying you to do, for fuck's sake! I want these motherfuckers kicked off the planet within twelve hours or it's your ass!!"

All eyes in the room darted back to General as the threat was leveled against him. "My ass, huh?!"

"That's fucking right!" Xitanker snarled.

General flipped the table and opened fire with his submachine gun from behind cover.

Xitanker leapt up to the ceiling, leapt off it, and sliced his claws through General's face. He followed up by mowing him down with his Uzi. He didn't let up until the bolts locked to the rear. "Fucking bitch!"

The other officers were still crouched behind other tables.

"Look at him! Go on, look at him!" Xitanker bellowed.

General's head was blown apart, exposing brain matter and shattered bone. An eyeball hung from his socket and rested on his chest. The rest of his torso was bloodied and chopped up like ground beef.

"If any of you motherfuckers wanna end up like him too, go right ahead! Just remember that nobody will bat a fucking eyelash for you. You're fucking expendable. You're here because nobody else wants your wrinkly asses! Your purpose now is serving me. You got that?!"

The officers nodded fervently, scared out of their minds.

Xitanker loaded his Uzi and pointed it at the rabble. He singled one of them out and gestured for him to come to the table. "Get over here."