A Creature of War, Book 4, CH05 (Patreon)

The San Antonio border was a sight El had almost given up seeing by the time they reached it. It had seen better days. The thirty feet tall wall separating the US from Mexico had collapsed in places, and the gap had been filled with cars and debris.

His mood dropped quickly when he saw the Anthros standing on top of the wall, pointing bows and crossbows at them.

“I’m VDK-56,” Vee called up to them when they were close enough. “Of the First Specialist Unit. We’re returning from a mission in Peru. Let us in.”

“Sorry, Sir,” an Emu replied. “But until the commander arrives, you have to stay there. We have no way to know you are who you say you are.”

“Really? You know anyone on this side of the border who speaks English?”

“You could be spies, Sir. I’m sorry, I have my orders. No one enters the country without being cleared by the commander. It won’t be long, I already sent someone to let her know you’re here.”

“Why don’t you just make the lot of them sick?” DHC suggested. “That’ll show them who you are.”

“No. They’re on our sides. They’re green, but they are still US soldiers. I’m not going to attack our own people.” He looked at the weapons pointed at them. “Not unless we’re provoked.”

An Anthro, a skunk, approached the Emu, and they spoke. She turned to them. “I’m sending someone to open the door. If you have any weapons, leave them outside. The only way out of that room is through a door which is going to be barricaded, if you do anything suspicious, don’t expect us to open it.”

“We’re not the enemy, we’re soldiers, just like you.”

“Sir, I have my orders. If you’re not going to do what I’ve said, we’re not letting you in.”

“Are we really going to disarm ourselves?” IGJ asked. “For all we know they’re going to kill us the moment we go in.”

“We’re on the same side.” Vee replied. Taking out the long knife and short sword. He put them in the cart. El followed his lead, and then the others.

The door opened, and they entered.

The room was large, the walls metal with cameras and regular openings in the walls got soldiers to watch over whoever was in it. The only other door, on the opposite side was metal, reinforced. Where there had been a window in the door was a hole with a piece of wood covering it.

The Anthro standing before them looked scared. A chipmunk, his ears were laid back his tail fluffed, his eyes wide.

“What’s your designation?” Vee asked.

“V—Virgil, Sir.”

RSM let out a snort. “You can’t have a name yet. You’re too green.”

He puffed out his chest. “I do. The Commander gave it to me.”

“You were given a name?” She lowered her voice. “Things sure have changed while we’ve been gone.”

“Really?” DHC replied. “You’re just noticing that now?”

The piece of wood was taken off the hole in the door and a human woman looked in. With a nod of satisfaction she ordered the door open.

She entered, accompanied with seven of the larger Anthros species around, all male. Two bulls, a tiger, an elephant, and three bears. She wore the gray uniform of command although it had seen better days.

Vee and El stood at attention, and the three others did the same.

She stopped ten feet away from them. “What’s your name?”

“Field Rank Corporal VDK-56, Ma’am,” Vee recited. “From the First specialist Unit. This is LRK-87, also with a field rank of Corporal. Behind us are Support Class soldiers DHC-23, RSM-46 and Infantry soldier IGJ-92. We’re all that’s left of the unit sent to destroy the Peruvian army. Do you know what happened, Ma’am?”

“What happened is that the world changed. What’s a field rank?”

“Ma’am?”

“I asked you a question, Soldier.”

“Soldiers only get ranks if they’re going to lead a unit. Those ranks are assigned to them at the start of a mission and only apply for the duration of the mission. You should know that, Ma’am.”

She waved it aside. “Since your mission is over, that means you’re not a corporal anymore. That means you’re just a soldier and now you’re part of the Texan army.”

“The what?” El Looked at Vee who was frowning.

“Who are you?” Vee asked.

“I’m Commander Susan Rodriguez.”

RSM whispered. “Commander?”

El echoed her puzzlement, there was no ‘commander’ rank in the army.

“Which army division are you from?”

“What does that matter? I’m the person in charge here.”

“Which military college did you graduate from, Ma’am?” this time there was a lot less respect in the ‘Ma’am.’

“The Texas one. Are you questioning my authority? Leon, take this soldier and throw him in the brig.”

One of the bear took a step forward, but stopped when DHC growled.

“Fuck this, I didn’t survive hell just to be kept from going home by a woman with delusions of grandeur leading a bunch of green playing at being soldiers. I say we take them.”

“At ease, soldier,” Vee said, his tone calm. “You’re a civilian, aren’t you, Susan?”

“I am the commander of this base.”

“Susan, I am a US soldier. I only take orders from US command or one of their appointed representative.”

“I am—”

“No, you’re not. Command hasn’t appointed a civilian since that debacle in the Congo United Territories seventy-two years ago.”

“Well, maybe you’ve missed the memo, but there hasn’t been a US command for a while now, so I’m in charge. If you don’t obey me, I’m going to have you executed.”

Vee looked at the bear. “Leon, correct?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You know the regulations?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good, then I’m assuming command.”

Relief flooded the room.

“You can’t do that!” Susan yelled. “I’m the commander!”

“No, Susan, you’re not. Believe it or not, US command actually planned from something like this. Regulations 43-8 paragraph 12. ‘In case of a complete loss of communication between a unit, or a base, the role of US command will fall open the highest ranked officer on site, this will apply that the officer be human or Anthro.’ I’m the highest ranking officer here.”

“No, you’re just an animal. You aren’t fit to lead. Leon, kill him.”

El felt the tension behind him. But they didn’t have to worry. The bear was looking at Vee, not Susan.

She looked at the bear in dismay. “I gave you an order, Soldier!”

“Sir?” the bear asked Vee.

“I’m in charge! One of you, kill them!” she ordered the other six. No one moved. She headed for the door.

“Keep her from leaving.”

The tiger grabbed her by the arm.

She glared at him. “Samuel, let go of me this instant.”

“I’m sorry, Susan. I can’t.” He sounded genuinely apologetic.

“How many soldiers are here?”

“Forty-six, Sir,” The chipmunk said. “We were doing exercises at Fort Hickton when everything stopped working.”

Vee nodded. “Leon, go assemble them, I’m going to want to talk to all of them.”

“Sir, there might be some problem. A few of them are unreasonably loyal to her. Until you explain things to them, they will resist.”

“Take these five.” Vee indicated the others who had entered with Susan. “But I don’t want any bloodshed.”

“Samuel, can I trust not to let her go?”

“Yes, Sir. I ca—it’s complicated, but yes I will follow your orders, Sir, not hers.”

“Good.” He motioned for the bear to get moving.

“I’ll assemble everyone in the courtyard.”

“I’ll show you where it is,” the chipmunk said.

“First, tell me where are all the commanding officers. I can understand that they were some loss of life when it happened, but they can’t all have died.”

“No Sir, none of them died, or if they did, it wasn’t at the base. They just left.”

Anthros were entering the room. Eight of them.

“What do you mean, just left?”

“Just that, Sir. They ordered us to hold the base and left us there. There were seventy of us then and we did our best to follow our orders, but within a week civilians were forcing their way in. We’re not supposed to attack US citizens, but they had no problems attacking us. Then she showed up, stopped the fighting and took controls of things. But…”

Vee waited, and when the chipmunk didn’t continue, he growled to prompt him.

“She had us hoard all the weapons and food.”

Vee glared at her, and El felt his anger rising if she’d been keeping the food to herself…

“How much?” Vee asked.

“All of it, Sir.”

El’s hands clenched. How could she?

“Has she been feeding them?”

“Barely. There’s been at least two attempts to break in already. She had us kill those we captured.”

If El’s powers had been working, she would have burst into flames right there. As it was, if his anger was stoking the fires, there was no evidence of it.

“Throw her in a cell,” Vee growled.

“Don’t you dare,” she told the tiger. “I’m in charge. Not that bull.”

“Susan,” the tiger replied, his voice tight, pleading. “He’s my commanding officer. I have to do what he says.”

She placed a hand on his cheek. “But I’m so much more to you, aren’t I?”

“Samuel?” Vee’s voice wasn’t loud, but the tiger reacted as if he’d been yelled at. He jerked and pushed the human into the arms of a ram.

“Take her to a cell,” he said.

“Samuel!” she yelled, surprise and outrage mixed together. “Samuel! I’m going to make you pay, do you hear me?” She wrenched herself out of the ram’s grip and took a step toward the tiger.

She staggered with a gasp. Samuel caught her before she fell, concern on his face.

“I stopped your heart for one beat,” Vee said, pulling her attention to him. “If you cause me anymore problem, I’ll stop it permanently.”

The horror El expected to see in her face was in Samuel’s. She was just angry.

“What are you?”

“I’m a Specialist. I said that initially. If you don’t know what that is, then you have even less business leading these soldiers.” He motioned to the ram. “Take her away.”

When she was gone, Vee looked at the tiger who was still looking at the open door. “Is this going to be a problem for you?”

“No, Sir. I’m sorry, I know she’s not a good person, but she—when I’m with her—” he sighed and rubbed his face. “I know this inappropriate, Sir. You don’t have to worry, I’ll follow your orders no matter what.”

“I don’t have a problem with whatever relationship you have with her, so long as it won’t divide your loyalty.”

Samuel nodded. “Just don’t ask me to hurt her, or be present if you’re going to—” he swallowed.

“I have no plan on executing her. She’s a civilian. It’ll be up to the other civilians to decide what to do with her.”

“They’re going to tear her apart,” the tiger whispered.

Vee waited, and when the tiger didn’t say anything else, or runoff. He pointed to a hedgehog. “Do you have a name?”

“Mary, Sir. She gave me my name.” She hesitates. “She didn’t want to have to learn our designations. We can go back to them, if you need us to, Sir, but we’re kind of used to them. It’s been more than a year now.”

“That’s fine. I’m Vee, this is El. These are DHC, RSM and IGJ. Take me to the food. El, I want you to take a look at the weapons, see if there’s anything we can use.”

“I’ll take you,” a fox said, “I’m Sydney.” El followed the fox through corridors lit by lantern tight. The flickering illumination couldn’t hide the scoffs marks and poorly cleaned blood. “There’s been more than one fight in here.”

“How do they work?” El asked of the lantern.

“They burn cooking oil. One of the stores in town sold antique stuff and had cases of these. I have no idea why anyone would buy them, but they’ve made our lives easier.”

They reached a guarded door. “New guy,” the fox said to the alligator and cougar. “Boss lady wants him to see what we have.”

The cougar took a key and undid the padlock. 

“Something else we found in the antique store.” Sidney took a lantern and entered, closing the door and motioning for El to follow him deeper into the room. Once they’d gone past a dozen stacks of crates, he spoke in a soft voice. “If you keep your voice low, they can’t hear this far. Until your friend’s made it clear he’s in charge, most of the bigger guys won’t be happy to learn commander Rodriguez isn’t the boss anymore.”

“They’re loyal to her?”

“For now. We’re made to follow the chain of command. She gave us structure, so we followed her. Some of them might resist more than others. Samuel isn’t the only guy she’s managed to attach emotionally.”

El opened the closest crate, rifles neatly set in cradles.