Dear Stranger,
The Dark Lord grows more ruthless with each passing day. He screams orders- impossible ones, mind you, and expects them to be executed that very instant. The Dark Lord is becoming a handful, nay, a mind-full and it is killing me.
At the same time, I am reaching heights of procrastination such as I have never known before. The news of Troop YNS scared me, to be honest. And when I mentioned it in our discussions, all the Dark Lord had to say was don’t be irrelevant. I don’t know what scares me more- the possibility of one of my troops succumbing to the virus and actually dying or the fact that some people here (You-Know-Who) are already dead inside.
I am aware that the Dark Lord aims to take over the earth and convert the Earthians to pseudo-dark troops following a brute-force algorithm and since Kylo is basically an AI who was accidentally born a human, he is the apple of the Lord’s eye. The first choice for anything. Kylo has a foolproof formula of increasing his army. By converting people without their consent or weaponizing their weaknesses to get what he wants. I already knew that those who crave for livelihood, nourishment, and protection are the first ones recruited in his army.
But there is one more class of people that I discovered today who enlist with him.
“Thank you for the visit, My Lady,” Troop YNS tried to get up when I visited him in his chamber, replete with my protective equipment.
“Stay there, don’t exert yourself,” I told him. I didn’t want him to unnecessarily get all worked up. “How are you feeling now?”
I knew the answer to the question but there was hardly anything else I could think of saying.
“I am the same, My Lady. Hoping the drugs will make me better.”
“Good,” I smiled. “Want to see you in action soon.”
“Sure, My Lady. I know it must be difficult for you with two of your troops MIA.”
I am not sure if that was a detail cleverly inserted or well-thought out by Troop YNS. Perhaps, he hadn’t meant to rat out on someone and assumed I had come to know, or perhaps, he thought why not utilize this opportunity of an audience with me to actually make a point.
“Why would you say two, YNS?” I said with as chilled a tone as I could muster. I could be tough as well, mind you.
“I…I am not sure…I thought My Lady…Lead Troop A has left,” YNS rasped in his new barely breathing voice.
“Okay, I don’t want to pressurize you or anything, but if you feel you are up to it, then could you explain what you meant by LT A leaving?”
LT A was Lead Troop A.
“Well, My Lady, I heard on the vine that LT A was looking for opportunities. And Lord Kylo’s team had a position due to the absence of…”
I let his voice trail away and stopped listening because I simply didn’t want to. Something in my chest was on fire and I had to find a way to douse it.
Before I tell you about my confrontation with LT A, let me tell you about my team’s constitution.
My team has seven troops- for seven days of the week. One was lying sick in the infirmary while the other as I came to know after some wrangling with the grapevine of the death star had his plans set to defect.
It wouldn’t have bothered me had LT A left for another Star, another enterprise. But to go to someone he knew was my archenemy? LT A would regret it.
But I didn’t bother to ask either Kylo Ren or listen to LT A. I went straight to the Dark Lord.
“My Lord, I am not comfortable with some of the happenings in the team.”
“I don’t understand, RG1.”
The Dark Lord will presume the least amount of comprehension when the topic is not to his liking.
“I heard that LT A is set to join Kylo’s army.”
“Oh that. Well, yes. LT A discussed it with me a few days ago.”
My blood vessels have a habit of seething till they are ready to burst.
“I do not appreciate the decision being taken without my consent.” My voice was icy and it was probably the first time I had talked to the Dark Lord like that.
“I don’t see why it should bother you so much. I think it was just a discussion. Nothing is clear yet.”
“My Lord,” I spoke as if talking down to a subordinate. “I am disturbed by the skipping of authority, and would really appreciate if I am kept in the loop in case of any decisions that concern me and my team.”
“That sounds reasonable, Gina.” I knew the Dark Lord only used Gina as an address when he wasn’t sure of his own conduct.
“Thank you, My Lord.” I ended icily.
Deep down, I must admit I felt hurt. After all that I was doing for my team, the way I put myself on the line for them, disloyalty is something I cannot forgive. LT A was too ambitious to be loyal, I had come to realize and there was no place in my team for the likes of him.
“My Lady,” he came to me within a quarter of an hour. “Lord Kylo had offered me the post. I wanted to refuse. But-”
“No ifs and buts, LT A. You can surely accept Kylo’s offer, but it was your responsibility to have taken my consent.”
“I was about to, My La-”
“You are dismissed, LT A.” My voice was curt and final, brooking no pleas, no dissent.
The hurt was only a part, the rage was far larger. LT A had been the best in my team. This would not be forgotten easily.
I would build my force from scratch and would remember each and every troop who stayed and those who left.
Kylo, beware.
You chose the scare.
Learning to play dirty,
The Rogue Stormtrooper
