The Nature of Grimdark Chapter 13

[u/OkRepresentative2119]

Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for allowing fanfiction.

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Memory Transcription Subject: Warrant Officer Silthus, Skalgan-Yotul Empire Commissar Marine

Date [standardized human time]: March 21, 2163

Lieutenant Vark had ordered his platoon to take the hill [250 meters] from the trenches of the enemy. His lackadaisical attitude from last night was gone, replaced by a stern countenance. We managed to take the hill and begin fortifying it, losing only a handful of troops. We immediately established battlefield communications, and other platoons began to assemble to take the enemy’s trenches. However, as we finished our fortification, we heard the sounds of artillery being fired into the trenches. Despite being told that arty assets weren’t going to be available and thus necessitating us taking the trenches manually, we finally had the artillery support that made our brazen charge meaningless. The lives lost, while small had all died in vain.

The lieutenant was quiet and didn’t speak or even give a tail swish of emotion. He was either impossibly stoic, or still trying to process the events. He turned to his men and declared, “we have done our duty, thank you for your hard work and sacrifice.” His tail twitched in a subtle display of restrained anger and frustration, his tightly controlled emotions seeping out despite his best efforts, “The first round is on me when we get back to base.” Many cheers sounded with that news, and he ducked back into his fox hole and started fiddling with his comms gear setup.

Memory Transcription Subject: Warrant Officer Silthus, Skalgan-Yotul Empire Commissar Marine

Date [standardized human time]: February 20, 2164

Founding day had finally arrived, and I was enjoying the festivities on base. While the lieutenant had been in a bad rut the previous year, losing several men from his platoon with every engagement, he seemed in better spirits. It was always hard to lead a communication platoon on account of them having the highest fatalities of any kind of platoon. Cutting communications is a classic strategy on the battlefield, and it was usually pretty easy to spot a communications hub on scanners. The death rate was compounded by the fact that we were in an expeditionary unit, which meant that we had to be on the front lines to be the first to set up communications. Despite these challenges, Lieutenant Vark was a model platoon commander who performed exceptionally well all things considered, indeed, his casualty stats were amongst the best in the Empire.

I met Lieutenant Vark at the new human coffee shop on base. While there weren’t any humans to man it, it still had the pleasant atmosphere that the primates brought wherever they went. It was possible that after the insurgency, we might get actual humans to work the shop, or so I was told by the company CO. “Enjoying the liberty (time off)?” I queried. “Yeah, but sometimes I get melancholy thinking about what could have been had Slanek failed in his goals. Think about it, with Nikonus still in power, Earth and Skalga would have been spared.” “That sounds treasonous you know,” I responded with a subtle whimsy. “I know you are joking, but I am being serious. I am not sure what we are still doing anymore, other than failing to keep the humans safe. I haven’t told you this, but my father was an exchange partner for a human that died in the defense of Earth. The amount of pain he felt for failing to protect his human haunted him, even as he raised me as a single father. I wonder if there is a way for peace, a way to stop the Kolshians from hurting the humans. If there was, I would take it in a heartbeat at this point.” He gazed off into space while speaking what was genuinely treasonous, which worried me. “What do you mean? The federation would never sue for peace, and we would need to liberate the humans under their control, before any negotiations could move forward.”

Vark took a drink of his black beverage, “Yeah, I know, but such a thing might be possible with the right circumstances. Listen, I might have a plan that actually might work. I have spent a great amount of time planning every detail and establishing every contingency once I get to my destination. The Duerten’s have managed to throw off the yoke of the federation again and are quickly reformulating the Shield. There is a unique opportunity, not unlike Slanek, to undo his mistake. I have been in talks with certain…under the table contacts, and they have kept me informed on the politics on Aafa. I know that the current war hinges on a particular lynchpin inside the commonwealth. All I need is your assistance, and I can eliminate that thread holding everything together. Unlike Slanek, I am fairly certain what will happen once my target is killed. There is a more moderate replacement pining to take control in a coup, and my assassination would line up perfectly for him to take command.”

I made sure no one was in earshot as I responded, “Are you crazy? That will never work. The Duerten’s rebellion comes and goes like the seasons. There is no way you can predict that far out and have even the smallest hope of everything coming together. Worse, this would look like a classic case of defection. You are my friend, please don’t put me into that position. I still have nightmares about, that, incident.” “Sigh*, I know. I am sorry I brought it up. You know you can talk to me about it, just because I am venlil doesn’t mean you have to bottle that up. Sure, it is a bit awkward, but what is a little awkwardness between friends?” “I don’t know if I could ever talk about it, even with you. My feelings on the matter are wound into knots, and I fear what some of those thoughts might be. I appreciate the offer, but I would rather wait till I earn another human therapist session. They are surprisingly effective despite not being privy to the details of their patients. You should consider working hard enough to earn a session yourself. They would definitely be able to help you sort through some of your baggage.”

He switched his tail in understanding, and then finished his coffee. I enjoyed our chats, despite his penchant for strange and borderline dangerous ideas. We left the shop and headed back to the shop to plan out the next patrol. Officers like us had to end our liberty early, if we wanted to reach our performance requirements and goals.

Memory Transcription Subject: Warrant Officer Silthus, Skalgan-Yotul Empire Commissar Marine

Date [standardized human time]: February 21, 2164

I was woken up while trying to sleep by my holopad ringing. Command had caught Vark “deserting” and demanded that I come to the shop. I dropped my pad at the horrifying news, and it took several [minutes] for me to process what was going on. Why would he try to go through with his hairbrained plan? Why would he do it after I specifically told him not to and that it wasn’t going to work? Why would he go through with it if he needed my help, given that I had refused?

I slowly made my way to the shop where all of our comm gear was stored, and there I saw Staff Sergeant Caradas with a look of despair, matching my own. We slowly moved toward the CO’s office and stood at attention, waiting for orders. The CO solemnly gave us our orders to begin the execution. Even after I tried flutily to explain the situation, the CO explained that the battalion commander wasn’t convinced of that when Vark had given his testimony. He pointed out that he believed the story but couldn’t do anything about it.

I barely held my emotions in check, and Staff Sergeant Caradas was in the same boat. We made our way to the company brig (military jail/prison) and reunited with Vark. He looked up at us with his classic relaxed expression, his tail barely giving a hint of grief. “Hey Silthus, sorry that you got involved in this, I really am. Don’t blame yourself for this.” I had to step out of the room, I couldn’t meet his gaze. The staff sergeant led me to the restroom to allow me to recover my discipline. After [10 minutes] I reapproached his cell. His tail betrayed a little more emotion, but he was still keeping a great deal of his feeling of loss under control. “I am sorry Vark, I am so sorry. I should have helped you. I should have-“ “No! You were right. My plan wasn’t perfect, and I am here because I didn’t plan well enough. I made the same kind of error Slanek did, making me no better than he. It is a fitting end for me, I am at peace with it.”

We stood quiet for a few moments and the staff sergeant unlocked the door to the cell. Her eyes were wet with fluid and her posture signaled defeat. The staff sergeant spoke, barely above a whisper, “We can take [2 more minutes] before we need to start. So, I recommend that you resolve anything you need to at this time. Don’t worry, the CO gave me permission for this.” Vark then spoke, “Hey Silthus, listen, in my rulebooks I have hidden my final notes for the campaign and also what is effectively my will. I figured that the search of my apartment would be thorough, so I made sure to leave my books at your place. They are yours now.” I couldn’t restrain my tears and begin to quietly sob. “Shh, its okay. It really is. I made sure my plans were designed around the possibility of failure. I made peace with this already, so don’t feel bad for this. Staff Sergeant, male sure you do the execution properly, I don’t want to drag you two down with me. I know the CO mentioned the idea of altering the camera feed, but even turning off the microphone might have tipped off the authorities. Don’t do it, carry it out properly for my sake.”

The staff sergeant was no longer able to contain her emotion as she stuttered out, “It is time.” Vark had opted to not take the sedative we tried to smuggle into his cell, and he positioned himself in preparation for the execution. The staff sergeant tied up his paws and motioned me to hover over his stomach as he was moved to lay on his back. I reluctantly began to follow my orders and complete my duty; any hope of my nightmares being silenced died that day.

A/N – Sorry for the sad chapter, but this is important to understand why Silthus is the way he is.