"Now, we are short of 88 people." - The commander said, sending chills down everyone's spines.

Everyone was dead quiet, and it was the middle of the night. I could only hear the sound of loud hyperventilating breathing and the crickets' incessant stridulation.¹The real name of their so-called chirping.

In my nervousness, my eyes also began to wonder, and they landed on my left, where the man behind me got released. He was a seedy-looking 25-year-old young man not much older than I was. On his face was a frozen look of abject horror and disbelief, and between his eyebrows was a blackened hole that leaked no blood. I could even see burnt hair on the back of his skull, where the laser exited and scorched the ground beneath us.

As I looked at his dead fish-like eyes, I saw myself in them. One misstep is all it will take for me to be like him, to gain a burnt hole in my forehead.

I couldn't but turn my eyes and glance at Kelya. Her warnings might have saved my life if I had a lapse of judgment.

Whether she did this consciously or subconsciously, intentionally or unintentionally, with an ulterior motive or out of pure kindness, I knew she was my greatest ally in this hour of need. Whether I like it or not.

In the meantime, the commander scanned us with his weird eyes as if upraising a flock of sheep. After half a minute, he once again spoke.

"All the officers who have lost their contestant, step forward!"

"Sir!" - 88 officers walked out of the crowd and saluted.

"Your task has failed, and you have lost your opportunity. You shall return to the fleet and report to the assignment officer for your reassignment." - The commander said coldly, his eyes filled with displeasure.

"Sir!" - They saluted and walked toward the spaceship.

Naturally, I heard what he said as well.

"They failed their task? Opportunity?" - I asked myself, perturbed and confused.

"Major Briyanna." - The commander called again.

"Sir!" - She responded, her saber already sheathed at her hip.

"Arrange 150 more officers to gather 150 new contestants from the list, just in case more resist." - The commander said.

"Then, what shall we do about the excesses, sir?" - She asked.

"Send the leftover contestants back home. As for the officers, they can consider themselves unlucky." - Colonel Desmond responded.

"Yes, sir!" - Major Briyanna saluted and walked to the ship.

The Colonel then looked at us again.

"All remaining officers with contestants, realign the remaining contestants in 42 lines of tens!" - He ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" - The officers, including Kelya, shouted in unison and started moving.

"Eddy, follow me." - Kelya grabbed my hand and pulled me.

Like a chick, I just nodded and followed her arrangement. I soon found myself in the 42nd line and placed 4th, the last in line, and far away from the corpses. Lucky me, I might get a glimpse of the meaning of life here.²Easter egg...

Moments after I settled in my new position, the commander spoke again.

"Representative captain, come forward."

"Sir!" - A man dressed like a first lieutenant but with a few added decorations went forward and saluted.

"Send them to the ship in batches of tens along with their accompanying officers and guards, and arrange their jumpsuits and rooms." - The commander ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" - The captain saluted and walked to the first line.

"First line, step forward, along with the accompanying officers and guards!" - The captain ordered.

As ordered, the first line of contestants reluctantly stepped forward along with their respective officers. From the soldiers gathered behind us, twenty armed guards joined them.

They were all then arranged to enter the spaceship one by one through a large futuristic double sliding door in the ship's hull, wide enough for eight men.

In the meantime, the other guards joined the other contestants, Including Mirah and Islea.

Although the three beauties were standing beside me, I had no intention of striking a conversation. I was frankly too scared to do so right now. The last thing I wanted was to be targeted by those weird eyes of that scary commander. Because of that, I got left with only myself and my thoughts.

With nothing to do, I thought back on the commander's words.

"This Colonel Desmond guy said they failed their tasks and lost their opportunity. Since they obeyed their orders to the letter, I can only assume that their mission was bringing a living contestant and ensuring he stayed alive. In other words, their task was to be as convincing as possible and to convey all the dangers and pitfalls to their contestant."

Thinking about that point, I then frowned and thought of a flaw.

"However, there is also the human factor, and even if the representative acts perfectly, the contestant was already bound to die. Some contestants, like me, might be more cooperative, so it is hard for them to die from disciplinary actions. If I think through that logic, it means that some of the officers were bound to fail, and some were bound to succeed. I guess this is why the officers didn't get punished for their failure, as it is not their fault."

After I rationalized it in my head, I asked myself the core question; Opportunity, what is it?

Thinking for a bit, I thought of a few rough ideas from my earlier chat with Kelya.

"Getting a quick promotion route is one possibility. Getting reassigned to a dream job is another possibility. Or it might be more lucrative, such as a bonus or paid vacation? Or, is it the chance to get close to the contestant that is the reward?"

Thinking about the last option, I couldn't help but ask myself another crucial question.

"Why did that commander reprimand his officers right in front of us? Was he trying to tell us that the officers are our reluctant allies? Or did he not care about us? Either he is a sadist, over-patriotic, or is trying to convey a subconscious message, that we are in danger from now on, a single wrong move will kill us, and our assigned officer is our only guide and ally. Or maybe it is a mixture of the three."

While I was musing that, I subconsciously looked at the commander again. To my horror, he was also staring at me, RIGHT at me, his mechanical eye rotating as if analyzing me. I immediately averted my gaze, my back drenched in a cold sweat.

"What the fuck?! Why is he staring at me?! I did nothing wrong!"

Then, a horrible possibility flashed in my mind.

"Does he plan on using me as an example later?! I must not give him an excuse!"

I screamed in my mind while trembling in fear.

"Eddy, are you alright? You are trembling a lot. Do you need to go to the bathroom or sit down?" - Kelya asked in a whispering voice.

"I-'m fine, thanks." - I replied with an equally silent voice, unconsciously glancing at the commander again.

To my surprise, the commander stopped staring at me and looked like he was surveying the others. I immediately relaxed my taut nerves.

"You will be fine, me. You will be fine..." - I tried to hypnotize myself.

I did not know how long I continued waiting, but after what I felt was around an hour, it was my line's turn.

While being escorted to the ship's entrance, I failed to notice that the commander was staring at me again, his expression strange.

 

 

Colonel Desmond's POV:

As I stared at the disappearing back of the last contestant, I couldn't help but recall the strange order I received a day earlier from high command.

[We are transferring you First Lieutenant Kelya Zav Taraia and her two guards. Arrange them to the contestant named Edgar Junior Harvey.]

As strange as this order was, I am but a soldier, so I did not question it and complied. However, as a seasoned Colonel and soldier of the Imperium, I couldn't help but ask myself; Why? For what purpose or reason did they especially transfer three soldiers and want me to assign them to a specific contestant? 

I know nothing about her and her two guards since they are not my soldiers, and I have never met them. Even worse, their private files showed that they are troublemakers.

And most importantly, why were they assigned to this young and unassuming man? I read his files, too. In terms of raw intelligence and physique, he is slightly below average by imperial galactic standards and has no extraordinary accomplishments. I have no lead or clue about this, as some documents regarding his life were redacted for some reason, and I had no authority to pry into them.

Regardless, it is none of my business. I am just a soldier.

"Sir! I have finished assigning the new officers from the central command. They are on their way to pick up 150 new contestants as ordered." - The familiar female voice of my adjutant sounded, waking me up from my thoughts.

"Ah, good work." - I casually replied.

The pink-haired adjutant brightly smiled at my praise, like a coquettish child, uncharacteristically of her usual cold behavior towards others.

"Thank you, sir!" - She said with a happy smile plastered on her face, unfitting for her age of 26.

Major Briyanna has always been like this towards me. If I recall correctly, it was when I rescued her back then in the slums, the scar over her eye a reminder. Back then, I was a recruitment captain, and she was a 10-year-old orphan, so I decided to pseudo-adopt her and place her in a child training program, where I was one of the trainers. She passed with flying colors and could have gone to other elite squads, but she insisted on staying with me.

Ten years ago, she began trying to seduce me. I am not blind or foolish enough not to understand her warped affection, love, and obsession towards her savior and father figure, myself. At first, I was conflicted, but around four years ago, I cracked. I am just a man.

She is also a good choice as a partner, given my approaching retirement and settling down as a recruitment instructor on some peaceful planet.

While reminiscing, Briyanna spoke to me again.

"Sir, what should we do with these corpses?" - She asked while kicking the head of the rude man she decapitated.

"Let them be here as a reminder for the next batch. I don't want to kill more than necessary." - I replied.

I am not an unfeeling killing machine, even to prehistoric savages. I don't want to kill more than necessary, anyways. Typically, resistance is almost non-existent, and citizens and nobles alike would celebrate in joy when selected, almost turning the day into a once-in-a-century holiday. It is, after all, a great privilege and honor, a chance to turn their lives around. The officer and two guards assigned to them are their guards and friendly guides, not their wardens and tormenters.

It was supposed to be a festive and easygoing task!

But on this planet, it was different.

This planet is a newly conquered one, a peaceful and backward world filled with our unevolved and unconditioned flawed pure human ancestors, ignorant of our traditions and religion. Even worse, they are still full of hostility and hatred due to us conquering them and killing their loved ones.

What was supposed to be a celebration in broad daylight turned into a mass execution in the dead of night. What was supposed to be a friendly and cordial relationship turned into a bitter and fear-filled connection between a tormentor and a victim.

I had no choice but to order the officers to act more fiercely and drag them away from their homes by force on short notice. I had to execute a few of them to instill fear into the rest.

I only hope that the bloody lessons I had taught them were not gone unheeded.

"Sigh*" - I sighed while rubbing the bridge of my nose, feeling exhausted from this inhuman burden. Acting like an evil psychopath is no easy task for an empathetic man like me, but someone had to do it.

"Sir, are you feeling stressed again? Would you like me to give you a massage later?" - Briyanna asked with a suggestive smile.

"Sure." - I replied, gratified, fully knowing what she meant.

I'm so lucky to have a woman like her by my side. After all, I am just a soldier, just a man.

 

 

 

Eddy's POV:

THIS SHIP IS MASSIVE!

No, seriously, it's enormous. This ship is easily the size of a giant tanker ship. Although it pales compared to those massive battleships in space, it is still large.

Soon, after traveling through a maze of steel and electro gizmos, we reached a room with a short line where empty-handed contestants entered and contestants holding blue uniforms exited.

"Eddy, wait in line over there and get your jumpsuit. I'll wait here." - Kelya motioned at the line.

"Finally! I can get to wear something other than these stupid old Spongebob pajamas." - I rejoiced.

"Wha? What the heck is a Spongebob?" - She asked with a weird face.

"Ah, yeah. It's the cartoon figure in my pajamas..." - I said embarrassedly.

"Eh... Do you idolize this... thing?" - Kelya asked in an even weirder tone while pointing at Spongebob.

"No, but when I bought it, I thought it be funny." - I said with a dry chuckle.

"Pft... Your weird..." - Kelya stifled a giggle.

"Yeah, I've been told that sometimes... Oh, there is my turn now, be right back!" - I walked to the now-empty line and entered the room.

When I entered the room, I saw a counter with a few staff members bringing clothes to the contestants from a backroom.

Just as I entered, a pretty next-door type woman in her early twenties wearing a revealing bathrobe got her jumpsuit and walked out, leaving the model-level female staff member open.

Just as I walked up to her, she asked unenthusiastically, "Name?"

"Edgar Jr Harvey." - I replied.

"A moment, please." - She said while typing something into her terminal.

After a few moments, she got what she wanted and nodded at me.

"Alright, wait a moment." - She said and left towards a backroom, likely a clothes storage room.

Around 15 seconds later, she walked back carrying a blue jumpsuit.

"There you go. I got you a jumpsuit, underwear, socks, and boots in your registered size. Your assigned officer will help you get dressed if needed." - She said with a monotone voice, clearly bored out of her mind.

"Eh... Wait a minute, don't I also need a helmet?" - I couldn't help but ask in worry.

From what I know, astronauts need a helmet during space launching and re-entry in case an air leak occurs.

"No need. This ship is a three-layered tried and tested military orbital deployment shuttle, specially built for space launch and atmospheric entry in unfriendly and undeveloped environments. Even in the case of a small breach in one of the layers of the hull, we have two more as a backup before a husk comes and fixes it. There aren't many things safer than this."

"Husk?" - I raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh. Enough bugging me, go and ask your assigned officer for FAQs. It's their job. Now shoo." - She shooed me off with an annoyed look.

"Alright, geez, sorry." - I apologized and decided to stop bothering her and walked away.

"Wow, what a bitch..." - I grumbled in my mind as I left the room.

I soon exited the room and met the waiting Kelya at the entrance.

"I see you are all set. Come, ill bring you to your room now."

She motioned me to follow her and began to walk, and I followed her.

As we walked, I couldn't help but ask, "Hey, Kelya, what is a Husk?"

"Hm? Where have you heard that?" - Kelya blinked and asked.

"The rude stock lady mentioned it." - I said with a grimace, still feeling salty over her rude behavior.

"Ah, yeah, they do get rude sometimes." - She nodded understandingly.

"So, what is a Husk?" - I asked while blinking.

"Lobotomized criminals or vat-grown low-intelligence human cyborgs." - Islea said from the side, not turning her head.

"W-What?! Can you repeat that?!" - I asked in disbelief, thinking I heard something wrong.

"You heard her right, Eddy. Husks are either ex-criminals or vat-grown humans with low intelligence that now serve the imperium of man in a half-mechanical state, usually for a specific task. To make them more excelled in their task, they are lobotomized and programmed for that task, resulting in a low-intelligence half-mechanical servant." - Kelya explained.

"H-Hah?! That sounds both horrible and crazy! Why not use AI-controlled drones or something?" - I couldn't help but say.

At my words, Kelya abruptly stopped and stared at me for a moment.

"Artificial intelligence is a highly restricted and frowned upon technology since the Machine revolt on Terra Prime. We view AI as a heretical alien lifeform, so we don't have those. Instead, we use husks, since they do not count as artificial intelligence and are unable to rebel. Speaking of which, there is one over there."

Kelya suddenly pointed to a corner in the front. What I saw there scared the living hell out of me.

Clank* Clank* Clank* Clank*

I saw a limping, malformed human with over half of his body replaced with mechanical parts. Half of its dull human face was replaced with mechanical parts, its left arm now a giant pincer, and its right a human-sized robotic arm holding a toolbox.

When we passed by it, and I looked at its dull and lifeless gaze, I understood why it is called a husk. It is indeed aptly named.

And another thing that I have now further confirmed. The imperium is even crazier than I imagined.