Project_Worm

Catha had rarely been so close to one of the Reds, they were even more imposing up close. Taller than her such that she had to crank her neck to look up at him, as he walked passed her. Clad in an intricate crimson carapace, high tech pulse armor that hummed as it distorted the air around him.

It wasn't long ago that the Reds stayed in their cities. Their homes were impossibly tall, technological towers patched together with the remnant of the structures built by the old ones. A testament of their lavish lifestyles.

The Reds had always used villages like hers. Though they forced them to grow crops and mine their caves to provide resources for the Reds and the entirety of they're cities. They allowed the rest of her people to live in relative peace.

For generations that is all that was required of Catha and her people. They grew into one of two roles created to serve the Reds. Miners or farmers, but in more recent years the role of soldier, at least for the men, was added to that list. As a young girl her teachers taught her of the war between the Reds and those from their homeworld. The proof of which was something they only saw in rare clear nights. Ships battling above the sky would flicker like dim stars. That was a long time ago however. Years before she was born the battles began to grow closer, and could now be heard at any time, like thunder cracking loudly from a blue sky.

She trailed sheepishly behind the Red into the town square. A crowd had already formed, three more Reds, these in less ornate armor, turned suddenly to greet the Red she had followed in.

"He must be in charge", she thought to herself as she joined the crowd.

The Red leader crossed his arms behind his back before floating slowly up above the crowd. He carefully and methodically surveyed the villagers below him before signaling to his subordinates with a quick nod.

The lower Reds stood to attention before entering the crowd. They shoved women and children out if the way as their heads dashed back and forth between the men. Their helmets flickered and flashed as they searched through the group, they shoved men to the ground at random. But when they found one of the unlucky few they'd be led into the center of the square near their leader.

She turned to look for Tilen, he stood tall in the crowd a stern look on his face, as though resigned to the inevitable. Months ago she had asked him to leave to join the rebels. Many people in her village called them zealots but the more days passed the more their words spoke to her. She'd probably join them too if her family didn't need her on the fields. At least people who joined them weren't shuttled off into space to fight a battle they didn't have a part in. It wasn't their fault that the Reds had cannibalized their home world and stripped it such that they now fought for her planet. A planet that her ancestors had respected and only taken from what was necessary or forced to by the Red invaders. She'd already lost her brother to the Reds on their previous run through the village three years ago. And although she'd hoped to see him again she knew she never would. She didn't want to lose Til too. She couldn't. Tilen however refused, he thought it was his duty if chosen, to do his part.

"If I leave and they have to chose someone else, then that person's life is on my hands. I can't do that". He'd tried to embrace her then, but she'd pulled away. He was proud to a fault and she couldn't accept his decision.

A lower Red approached Tilen and her heart lept into her throat as it scanned him. The lower Red turned away to scan the people around him before returning his gaze to Tilen and leading him into the circle with the other chosen men. Tears formed in Catha's eyes and she pushed forward into the crowd attempting to get near Til. The Reds made one final sweep as she reached him.

"I told you!" Catha wept as she grabbed onto her friends crumpled tunic. He pulled her close into him, he smelt of coal and sweat from the mines. She looked up at him, he had tears in his eyes. She couldn't recall ever seeing Tilen cry, the sight broke her.

"I told you" she repeatedly weakly.He cupped her face "I'm sorry Cat, but I had to".

She went to argue, but before she could she was pulled away and tossed back into the crowd.

"Is nuff ey?" A lower Red asked another.

"Not many shiner 'ere be guessed" another replied. Their words were mostly gibberish to her.

The final lower Red shrugged "eh, ring da bods up, topper be gonnin as is" he said nodding to their captain who had already exited the gathering.

Tilen turned to see Catha once more before being placed into the carrier. It grumbled softly as it hovered above and away from the courtyard.

She ran after it chasing it out of the village. Catha heard rustling in the field, the suddenly a number of men riding d'anos shot from the stalks and swarmed the carrier. She froze, where the rebels trying to liberate her people? Or just attempting to eliminate potential enemies?

The three Reds lept out of the carrier which did not stop on it's path out. Some of the rebels went for the carrier but wheres stopped short by the lower Reds, who zipped in the air much faster than their captain had shown possible. They pulled out whips which with a flick of their wrists hardened into large silver shining spears. The rebels light arrows sputtered on the surface of the Red's pulse armor but couldn't penetrate their shell.

A Red cut the power of his boots and fell onto the gravel path with a thud. He spun the length of his silver spear over his head taunting a rebel but when he turned his d'ano to head in his direction the Red spun quickly on his heel to avoid the lizards swiping claws and used his silver spear to skewer a rebels skull.

Catha fell back, the horrifying sight wasn't like anything she'd seen. Another rebel roared at the sight of his fallen friend and attempted to charge the Red warrior, who made no attempt to dodge. Instead he threw his spear into the throat of the quickly approaching d'ano causing it to hurl the rider off as it cried and bled its dark purple blood into the dirt. The rider slammed into the ground his makeshift armor warping from the impact. As the Red slowly approached the prone rebel. He knelt down and lifted the man by his neck.

Then out of the field an explosion followed by a loud howl grabbed the Red's attention he dropped the rebel and turned to see his comrade missing his left arm, half of his helmet was crumpled and melted. The Red in front of her reached for a blaster on his hip but before he could fire he had been impaled by his own tossed spear.

The final Red turned his attention onto the rebel with the spear and dipped down to attack him. The rebel attempted to use the spear to defend himself but he was no match for the skilled Red. A quick strike from the Red's spear caused the rebel to drop his weapon and attempt to run. The Red bent to pick up the spear. He stood, flicked his wrist returning his weapon into the state of a whip which he used to wrap around the leg of the fleeing rebel. Then with another flick caused the whip to harden severing the Rebels leg.

His pained scream was torture to Catha's ears, she'd seen enough she thought turning to leave. The rest of her village were smart enough to have hid inside their cobbled homes long before her.

Another scream caused her to turn back to the rebel, the Red had used one of his spears to pierce the man's abdomen. A second rebel came at the Red, without missing a beat he wrapped his whip around the attackers neck. Catha swallowed hard, she knew what must be coming.

The Red used his the spear to finish the rebel on the ground a swift shot through the center of his skull. Then turned his attention to the man at the end of his whip, the rebels face had begun to turn purple as he tried desperately to take a life saving breath.

"Be nest, I's shook. Not be spectin much from sum Earth bods" he said, venom in his voice.

"Yeah? Well there's more where that came from you piece of filth!" The rebel struggled to spit out.

The Red cocked his head, "Nah, thas it, least for ya tis". He made a show of straightening his arm he wanted to see the fear in the man's eyes.

Then, bang. Before he could activate his whip and decapitate the man's head. His back exploded, he'd been shot. He dropped his whip and fell to his knees. He clutched at his chest as though trying to keep the blood from escaping. Then he turned towards Catha before falling lifelessly to the ground. It was only then did she realize she was holding the fallen blaster. She didn't know when she grabbed it. But she did, she'd killed him. She killed a man.

She was going to be sick, how, why. She was going to leave, why did she stay, why did she get the blaster, how did she shoot it, why did she shoot it? The man she saved brought her out of her head by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We have to get out of here. They'll come looking. They'll know what we did. If we stay they'll blame the town." He said standing and calling for his remaining allies.

"But I'm not part of this, I'm not one of you. I'm not a rebel."

"Sorry to tell you kid, but you are now."