I've always wanted to expand on my nation and give other players an idea of what life is like. So, assuming the moderators don't cut off my head, I will be publishing stories about Populi-Terrae in several parts, one thread at a time. So let's get this show underway with 'The Unwilling Princess'.
Populi-Terrae/ Una Potentia border area
0200 hours
The Terraen flag was flying low that night. The cold breeze washed over the Civil Defence Force soldiers in charge of securing the border between Populi-Terrae and the failed state of Una Potentia. James assumed that the breeze had died down because of the constant warfare that had been taking place across the border ever since the Independence War. James threw his rifle over his shoulder on a sling and reached for a cigarette.
James then felt a hand on his shoulder. James immediately hit the stalker in the chin with his pistol and aimed it, loaded. It wasn’t a stalker, but it was a prankster. George.
“Damn it, George. I told you not to sneak up on me like that, especially at night”, replied James as he slipped his gun into his holster and helped George up. “Sorry, mate. I didn’t know you were so tense”, said George, smacking his pants clean.
On the horizon, there was a orange-reddish light, even though sunrise wasn’t for another three hours. A city was burning.
“Makes you glad we got out, huh?” asked James, referring to Populi-Terrae’s independence in 1977. George nodded in the affirmative. “Especially when you’ve got kids”, he replied. James looked at his friend. “How are your kids?” he asked. “Fine, but my son wants to see me. My wife has to tell him that I won’t be back home for another year. It really sucks”, replied George.
“I feel you, brother, I really do. But your son needs to understand that soon, he will be forced to make the commitment”, replied James. “Jim, he’s six. The only thing he understands is that I’m missing out on his birthday next week”, said George. “Why not Skype him?” asked James. “That’s not good enough for him. Believe it or not. He thinks Skype is for people too lazy to see people”,
James was stunned. “Are you sure he’s six? Because he sounds like me”,
“Yeah, he’s six”,
James chuckled. “You make stick figures, right? Why not send him one as consolation”,
George scratched his beard. “He likes it when I make toys for him. It might sate his anger for a little while”,
But before James could say another word, his wrist-com sprang to life. On his wrist, he could see two human heat signatures running through the blasted landscape, thanks to a drone.
“We got two crossers. Lock and load”,
James and George loaded their respective automatic rifles and knelt down in a shooting position. The snipers in the watchtower trained their red lasers on the forest.
Then out of the shadows came a screaming woman, her hair flying all over the place and wearing torn clothes, towards the base.
“STOP! PUT YOUR HANDS ON YOUR HEAD!” shouted a loudspeaker,, projecting the voice of a soldier overlooking the military base. The woman threw her hands up and knelt down. George stood up and placed his rifle on the ground and walked towards the woman. “What are you doing? Pick up your gun!” shouted James. George calmly put carried the woman onto her feet. “She’s not armed”, replied George.
But before James could argue, a bullet flew through George’s arm. “DAMN IT!” he shouted. George tackled the woman to the ground.
“FIRE!!!!” shouted the loudspeaker. James and the snipers fired into the shadows. A black man wearing a T-shirt and camouflage pants dropped dead. The man dropped a AK-47 as he died.
“Cease fire!” shouted the loudspeaker. The air fell silent. “Someone, bring the woman to the medical bay!” shouted the loudspeaker. George handed the woman over to another soldier.
The woman had been in the sickbay for a couple of minutes, so James took the opportunity to scold George. “George, do you realize that you could’ve been killed without your weapon?” George guffawed. “What the hell did you want me to do? Let her be killed?”
“How about wait for backup? You’re lucky that bullet went clean through your shoulder”, replied James. “James, I’m not…”,
Out of the corner of his eye, George noticed the Commander of the Base, Joseph Schmidt, approaching. Schmidt was dressed in the standard issue green/black uniform with a series of medals running across his right breast.
“Commander Schmidt!” shouted George as he stood to attention. Joseph followed. The two friends clicked their boots.
“You two, come with me. you might be able to help with this woman”, replied Commander Schmidt. The two friends were at first, confused, but they decided to go along with it.
The soldiers and Schmidt entered the hospital. The CMO, Doctor Chiang, stood at attention. "At ease. How bad are her injuries?"
Chiang snorted through his nose. James and George knew that when Chiang snorted through his nose, that meant bad news.
"She's stable. Whatever happened to her wasn't life-threatening, although I did find... bruising", reported Chiang. "Well, she came from Una Potentia. Of course, she would have injuries",
"Not just that. There's bruising around the vagina area and there are traces of male semen on her legs",
Schmidt and his three underlings thought the same thing "Oh, God, no",
"But that would mean...?" asked Schmidt.
"She was raped", concluded the doctor.
To be continued...
