Gears of War: What War Has Brought Us To

Chapter 5: Welcome To The Squad

It wasn't often that 208 had been able to board a Torture Barge with his old squad. He was one out of about twenty Therons that were put on torture barge duty. They, of course, were all assigned to different ones. As the Barge docked near the edge of a cliff, stairs from the lowest level unfolded at 208's feet. He slowly stepped up the stairs, being careful to not trip, or something of the sort, and embarrass himself. A group of about five Drones greeted him at the far end of the barge. "How is everything going?" Asked 208. "Good," replied one Drone. "We were just about to round up slaves to bring them here." 208 didn't know if rounding up slaves was part of Torture Barge duty, but he went with it. "I see. Where are the humans that we are to gather up located?" 208 asked. The Drone replied, "Not much farther into there." He pointed to a large, dark cave that the Barge was slowly making its way to. "We just need to round up a few and put them into the cells on the highest level until we get to the torture chamber. 208 nodded. The trip to the humans felt like an eternity. He felt powerful though. He was in charge of a group of what he was a part of only a few days prior. The queen's voice no longer radiated through the caves. It was only present in the inner hollow. Nexus. After that "eternity" was finally over, the Barge stopped at another cliff. The Drones led 208 off the Barge into an area where hundreds, maybe even thousands of little cell-like cages were scattered. All he could hear was moans and coughs. "Pick which ones you'd like, sir," Implored a Drone that seemed to be more of a leader than the rest. "We will be waiting here." 208 nodded and walked over to the first cage and opened it. Inside, a human, young and healthy stood. He had not been tortured yet and hadn't been there for long. "Yes, a new one." The Drone sneered. The other drones stood firmly behind him. 208 took out a pair of shackles used to guide prisoners back to the barges. The prisoner seemed terrified but knew there was nothing he could do. 208 went forward and opened the next cage. This time, the human inside was starved and sickly. It didn't seem to know what was happening. "Disgusting," thought 208. "This one deserves to die." He placed the shackles around the prisoner's wrists and went on to the next cage. The chain he was holding to lead the prisoners only had ten pairs of shackles on them, so his task was finished rather quickly. When he finished, the Drones lead 208, who was dragging the humans along, back to the Barge. They traveled to the highest floor and put the ten humans into the cells. The Barge started moving towards the torture chamber.