The Way It Is

time to go - part 2

I remain at attention, not sure what to do or say. Did Chief Nekkal expect a response?

"At ease Zea." Running a hand through his mussed-up black hair like it was the millionth time that day, Nekkal does the most un-Zukrog thing ever. He lets me see his emotions behind his eyes.

Zukrog's have one very distinct and strange feature. Well, besides their alabaster skin and pointy ears. Their hair changes colour on a whim, usually with their emotions or physical distress.

All military-trained Zukrog learn how to suppress their emotions and usually keep their hair either devoid of colour, pure white, or black.

Black is said to be easier as it is as simple as harnessing your feelings of anger and aggression. Dark thoughts equalled dark hair. When in battle, not hard to do.

White is another story. Only those from the royal bloodline, or the descendants of the original Priests and Priestesses, seem to have that ability. It means they can fully detach themselves emotionally from their physical form.

Or so I have been told.

There is a lot of speculation about what that implies, but unless you are a part of the group, you'll never know. So for Nekkal to even let me see a glimpse of the turmoil behind his eyes is surprising.

"We have new information from the Orikai. We don't have much time. We have already cleared the last continent of survivors. The Species Salvation Team and Historical Artifact Recovery Team have been sent back to the station." The storm brewing behind Nekkal's eyes seems to intensify.

Damn! Those are Armada's real moneymakers. Armada always makes themselves look good by publicly broadcasting how they "saved" the latest planet or planets from war.

Or, in this case, how they saved an entire species from going extinct, along with the planet's unique wildlife, vegetation and historical artifacts. Yup, it makes you look damn good to save an entire species along with their heritage.

What they don't broadcast, though, is the large sums of credits they will get selling the plants and animals to the highest bidders.

Exotic animals and plants are a huge black market industry in the Universe these days. Some of the Human's historical artifacts will end up in a museum. Armada won't pass up the opportunity to make a daily income on them, but others, the ones that are worth big money, will be replicated, and the originals sold like the animals and plants.

I don't have much respect any more for Armada. I had enlisted young, buying their bullshit. Now they remind me of a scavenger pickpocketing the dead bodies of war for whatever they can make a profit on. There isn't anything honourable about it.

Armada is amazingly clever at twisting their motives and actions. So much so that hundreds of Galaxies have united, announcing Armada as the Multi-Galaxy Peace Keepers. All bullshit.

Yet if the money makers have been sent home, most likely job done, that almost explains why it is time to go. They won't keep us here if there is no more money to be made.

Part of me suspected the calvary wouldn't come until the money mission had been completed. I have a brief moment of regret for the people here. Their lives have been pretty much normal in the compounds. Not varying much from the way they had lived before we arrived. Today that changed. Dramatically!

It isn't my problem. None of it is. That's why you can't bring emotions into your mission. Eventually, you always have to move on.

For some reason, my mind wanders to Nadia again. Fuck.

I had wanted to learn more from her. Again, not my place or my problem anymore. I am fighting to control my frustration. It's not working.

They are probably being forced onto one of the four ships at gunpoint as I stand here. Should I mention the cannibalism?