[The Service of an Arcadian]
[Prolog]
In a matter of seconds, everything turned so bleak. Our tarnished walls and villages of rubble used to give us strength and purpose...now they only remind us of our failures. Arcadia has been a monarchy, inconsistent warlords, manipulative careerists advancing their own agenda but rarely a leader. When will we realize our own potential, our courage, our people do not falter? When will we realize, that we're better than what has been said? Now we fight the monsters that have been bred in our hearts.
[Introduction]
To my left and right were my comrades, excited to see what the Emperor had planned for us. We were fighting on the Venezian front last fall and coming home was a pleasure. Once our battle transport docked into Andarta's terminal we finally took in the fresh and cold air from the station's oxygen tanks. As we disembarked, we were met by an officer we haven't encountered...he looked quite peculiar in the least. We were promptly marched into a room filled with hundreds of Arcadians from all fronts and allies who have fought diligently throughout our conflicts. Once we settled down, Emperor DystraTala read off statistics off of our military board. We all cheered for our victories yet respected the lives lost in the process. Abruptly after his speech ended, a shadowy figure arose from his slumber. He walked right behind the Emperor and stayed in deep solace. Our Emperor had a bit of worry in his eyes but as usual, began speaking once again. "My people, as time takes its toll I shall now ensure Arcadia's legacy is not forgotten." "I've rallied the Arcadian people to announce a new Emperor...welcome Emperor Shadownize." Not a word was said.
[Chapter 1 (A few weeks into the Vaktovian War Declaration)]
The sky was of a deep gray shroud as we tediously emptied our ammunition into our targets. We knew we were ready for war, we've been bred our entire lives to fight the enemy....yet we still stand in the metal cage that we call our training center.
"CEASE FIRE", beckoned a Centurion.
We faced into attention and heard the news that brought life to our spirits.
"High Command has authorized scouting and skirmishing raids at Keznan. We're the first battalion to deploy into their jungles. Gear up and prepare to board the Excalibur First Rate Star cruiser."
In our excitement, we all rushed to our lockers and strapped on our metal plates, family photos, snacks, and our anti-dropship rockets. We lined up on a boarding bay of our base to be greeted by Emperor Shadownize himself. He was clearly a strong silent type. We were finally ready to get into the depths of space...we were ready to step into oblivion. We entered a deep sleep in our chambers only to be abrupted by the loud yells of the deploy siren. We were directly over the heart of the jungle and the excitement was extinguished by the protocols learned in our training. A moment later our deploy pods launched into the deeps of the jungle. Many of us were shredded by the blasts of their ARC cannons yet we pushed deep into their facilities. We broke through their lines time after dozens of time. We were the first expeditionary force to successfully tame the Vaktovian lion. On the same accord, our forts outlying major cities have faced the Vaktovian war machine yet we won our defense suffering minor losses. We were unstoppable.
Or at least that is what thought. On our regular patrol, we were ambushed by Vaktovian Vanguards and I was the last to stand due to pure chance. I could hear their taunts and the sound of their metallic armor brushing against the smooth brush. I knew that I would not get any justice if I let them rush toward my detachment. In a stroke of luck, the vanguard unit was held up by natural obstruction. I took advantage of the situation by throwing my issued ammo hang and patrol plates off and jumped towards the unsuspecting Vaktovians. I grabbed one by the head with my knife at his neck. He didn't see his unit again. He apparently held some explosive charges in his personal kit...which led me to the dreaded realization...fate has given me a chance to prove myself. I took the guard's uniform and strapped the charges under the kevlar. I fixed the comms and reported in ,"Vaktovian 03 Guard Division reporting, Operator." I was guided to the thoroughly guarded dense thicket until I was in a clearing filled with searchlights and electromagnetic waves from the ARC towers themselves. I was amazed by how much we underestimated our enemies. The Vaktovian Operator positioned me to the heart of their operations unsuspecting my true intent...it was clearly too late. I smiled at the guard to my side, and asked, "How's the family?" and once he opened his mouth, I grabbed my Vaktovian issued bayonet and made sure his wife became a widow. I took off the sweaty helmet and opened the plasma gates. I could immediately hear the sirens go off but they didn't bother me. I ripped open my armor plates and activated the charges. In the distance, I could see my comrades charge in and just thought to myself "Glory to Arcadia".
[Conclusion]
The raid was won, our forces have proven themselves. The difference of one single Arcadian could not be atoned or forgotten. The title of Arcadian was respected, now it will no longer be overlooked. Vaktovia has finally tasted the bitter syrup of defeat and they didn't like it one bit.
[Connection to Halloween]
Our lack of fear has made us into hardened monsters of war. We clearly can't distinguish the difference between honor and fanaticism. We're men with deadly intent and clearly, we're a force to be reckoned with. However, what I really find a nightmare is the extinction of our fellow Arcadian. We're currently not as active as we were a few months ago and it'd be a shame to leave a legacy unfulfilled.
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