War Of The Race's

CH 14: A Grander Diplomacy PT3

[...No sacrifice, No victory...]

My back hollered in pain as the unchanging scars from battles past made sure I memorized them; my blanket wasn't comfortable at all; it baked me, and it only seemed to make it worse; the threads felt like blades, and the trapped heat made me sweat uncontrollably. I swiftly sat up, another sleepless night; I was tired of this, I got out of bed and went to the restroom; my horns had seen more promising days; I rubbed them; feeling the subtle ruptures and marks; the abrasions were becoming more visible each day.

I rinsed my face in chilling water; it felt good against my hardened scales-- I watched the water trickle down my face; I must've gone a little overboard as my hair was now dampened. Might as well get some fresh air.
The halls of the base were always full to the brim, a lot of the troopers who knew who I was constantly stepping out of my way or bowing their heads to show some type of-- 'respect.'

When it first happened; it was exhilarating; I thought I had finally 'made it;' that all of my tribulations were finally starting to get acknowledged, but it got old fast; many of the troops here were just intimidated by me; or trying to suck my tits hoping for a quick promotion, thinking they'll please me by getting on my 'good side', only a certain few had any real respect-- those being the older lot.

As I walked past the interrogation room, I was surprised to see a body bag being carried out on a stretcher by two skunks and Ckleck covered in blood; I rushed over to her, looking her up and down, her fur covered in deep red, her face looked fairly surprised to see me as she quickly got to attention.

"What happened?" Ckleck's eyes darted to the troops who waited by the door as if expecting me to question them as well-- I walked to the bag and unzipped it-- to find that tiger CLAW operative lifeless; her orange coat bathed in dried blood; it looked crusted as if it had been like that for hours. "She attacked me, ma'am," I looked back at her, expecting her to continue, "When you left, I did as asked with the questionin'; she gave away some details, went for my knife in a sudden burst of aggression, and I fought her off," she raised her blood-soaked arms to show wide lacerations, her fur hid most of it but on some of the bald spots she had the wounds were showed in detailed and looked fresh.

That doesn't add up; once again, I brought my attention back to the tiger-- the blood on her looked crusted, "Did you torture her?" I demanded to know, "She was stubborn at first; I only gave her a sock to the face to get her to start spillin' info," she declared. Ckleck's eyes looked slightly crazed, but then again, ever since what the F.A.M. did to her and her best friend, she always had that 'glint' in her eyes since then, but now-- it looked far more profound.

"Did you at least get something useful?" she nodded, "Yes, ma'am, said there's a CLAW outpost set up on an old oil rig; optical disruptors (1) are linin' up all over it, so satellites won't be able to see it-- she gave the cords though," I looked her in her red eyes; trying to find any deceit; I know Ckleck as issues but she wouldn't straight out kill a captive unless ordered, much less lie to me.

"Alright," I sigh, "Go to the medical wing and get psychological-" Ckleck instantly cut me off as soon as I was about to say the two words I know she despised, "I'm fine, ma'am, really, I don't need one of those, I'll get my arms checked out but besides that everythin' is good upstairs," she tries to excuse.

"Really now?" I waved off the troops so they could get rid of the body and most importantly not let them pry in on Ckleck's personal information; don't need rumors spreading around about one of my best girl's problems.

She nodded, "I promise, Finpa, I'm fine, you know how much I hate those things," she sounded earnest enough for me to buy her words.

"Alright, fine, let the docs clean you up, write a report, and then go get some downtime, okay?" She nodded and saluted me as she walked off vanishing behind a corner. Something told me she wasn't telling me the full of it; she promised she was fine, but why do I feel wronged? Ckleck going berserk behind my back and lying to me about it. . . No, she wouldn't; not to me, although her losing it was becoming all too common for my liking; but I shouldn't out way it as a possibility.