Random Pips

“We’ve got it pinned down now. There’s no way out of this alley. Get the net ready,” Tavrin Guan hissed, catching his breath against a dumpster. He crouched on the balls of his feet as his friend stretched a makeshift net of clotheslines and stones across the narrow alleymouth behind him. Gripping a pipe in his hand, Tavrin whirled around the dumpster.

Their quarry frantically scurried from one corner of the dead end to the other as Tavrin closed in on it. Desperately, it dove past his legs and made a mad dash back towards the alleymouth. It realized its mistake when it slammed into the net, its momentum causing the weighted ends to whip around into doomed embrace. A second later, Tavrin put an end to its survival woes with a blow to the skull.

“Well, it looks like we won’t have to go to bed hungry tonight,” said Tavrin, eyeing the limp form of the coon with satisfaction.

“Yeah man, I really don’t think I can stomach another night of rat,” Bost Milone agreed with a grimace. “You think this’ll last us until the next ration day?”

“I think so. As long as we spread it out and choke down the rats we caught earlier today, we should be good.”

“Unless they cancel the supply drop again,” Bost muttered.

Tavrin leaned his head back against the wall wearily. Each passing day of life under the Imperium has been getting grimmer for the past few years – not that it was very bright down here in the slums to begin with.

He gazed enviously up at the hovering skyplates that blotted out huge expanses of the sky. If only he were of nobility, he’d be able to take his mother up to one of those floating cities and settle in a warm home with proper food shipped from Mars itself. Even if he were just the lowliest of nobles and received a tiny apartment, he’d find some way to make room for Bost and his kid sister, too. But to be nobility would mean having to join the Imperium military and he wanted nothing to do with them.

“Hey, remember that time when we got a Martian bov steak?” Bost piped up, breaking through the gloomy silence. He closed his eyes and grinned. “Man, I have the taste of every bite memorized forever.”

Tavrin smiled. It was the coronation day of Emperor Commodus the 2nd and as His first decree of benevolence, He had opened up the Imperial storehouses to provide every family with a delicacy – commoners were finally able to get a taste of what they could only dream about before.

The Emperor promised that His benevolence would continue and asked only for His subjects to serve three years in the garrisons of the Imperium’s frontier planets. There was hesitation at first as everyone knew that the frontier planets were the most vulnerable to enemy attack. For close to a millennia now, the Imperium has been fighting an endless war with the other two human factions in the galaxy: the rebellious so-called Celestial Alliance and the mysterious, alien-infested Babylonians.

The Emperor then proclaimed that those who were willing to serve on the frontier planets would only have to perform patrol duties since skirmishes with the enemies have dwindled to a standstill for five years already as each faction took the time to regroup and rebuild. Most importantly, anyone who serves there would have their families provided for. These words sealed the commoners’ loyalty to him and they flocked from all over the Imperium to enlist.

Tavrin’s father was one of them. That night ten years ago, the whole family saw him off to the troop transport ships. He gently brushed the tears away from everyone’s cheeks, consoling them that three years would pass in a blink of an eye.

He gripped Tavrin by the shoulders. “Take care of your mother. Look after Bost and little Lia, too – we’re all the family they have. I’m counting on you, son.”

Three years came and went, but there was still no sign of his father’s return. When another year passed, they begged the Imperium officials for any news of his father. It soon became clear that every family whose loved one boarded the troop transport ships had not heard anything either.

The Imperium officials maintained their silence until Emperor Commodus the 2nd finally announced that the commoner troops were to remain on the frontier garrisons indefinitely. Chaos erupted all across the Imperium as the commoners lashed out in fury at the Emperor’s treachery. But He had been ready for just such an uprising all along.

Shock troopers from the Imperial Guard had been covertly deployed to orbit every Imperium planet months before the Emperor made His announcement. The moment the first riots broke out, the shock troopers immediately dropped down on every planet surface. Together with the Imperial Guard troops already stationed on the surfacesides, all resistance was quickly and ruthlessly stamped out.

Within days, martial law was imposed and heavily enforced throughout the Imperium. The Emperor declared that the Imperium would be commencing a new offensive on the Celestial Alliance and the Babylonians to bring them within the embrace of the Imperium. All resources and able-bodied humans were to be commandeered for the offensive, which made the tough life down in the slums of Earth even harder. The only way to survive in the slums now is to scavenge and rely on the supply drops, which are getting less and less regular.

Tavrin squinted at the waning light from the small patch of sky above them. “Let’s get back home, Bost. Curfew’s coming up.”

Bost stuffed the coon carcass into his pack along with the four rats they had caught earlier today and slung it onto his back. Tavrin rearranged his cloak over the pack and they set off.

They stuck to the shadows and avoided the streets covered by harsh spotlights, some of which were already being activated to sweep for any movements. Loudspeakers on every corner began blaring the curfew warning announcement: “Curfew will come into effect in thirty minutes. Please promptly return to your residences and remain there until seven o’clock in the morning. Any person or persons found in a non-residential zone during curfew will be met with severe consequences. Thank you for obeying the law as decreed by the Emperor, may He live for ten thousand years.”

Tavrin and Bost finally turned into the main street leading to their residential zone. They pulled up their hoods and changed their gaits to those of two weary old men. Following closely behind a group of commoners, they slowly shuffled past the watchful eyes of the Imperial Guard patrolling the street.

Suddenly, another commoner sidled up next to Bost. “I think you should give me whatever goodies you have in that pack there, old man,” the commoner rasped in a harsh whisper.

Bost turned around to confront the stranger and his hood slipped off slightly. The stranger’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re a – ”

“I think you best be on your way,” Tavrin growled as his knife flashed out against the stranger’s ribs.

“Yes, yes…of course,” the stranger whispered, backing away. He narrowed his eyes at them and scurried away.

“Do you think he noticed…”

“I don’t know,” Tavrin said, glaring at the stranger’s back disappearing into an alley. He adjusted the hood on Bost and began shuffling forward. “He’s got a crazy look in his eyes though so maybe no one would believe him even if he reported us. But we should be on the lookout tonight, just to be on the safe side.”

They continued on and let out a huge sigh of relief when they finally reached the door of the shack they call home.

“Oh, thank Heaven you two are back!” Tavrin’s mother exclaimed as they entered. “What happened? Why were you so late? You’re usually back well before the curfew warning starts. I couldn’t even sit still all this time. I – I kept having visions of the Imperial Guard discovering you two. Oh, if that happens, I honestly have no idea what I’d do,” she sobbed.

“Ma, it’s alright. C’mon, Bost and I are really careful every time we’re out. We just got held up today ‘cause we wanted to give the family a treat,” Tavrin said, giving his mother and Lia a hug. “Show them what we’ve got, Bost.”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Bost announced with a grin and a flourish of his cloak. “It is my honour to present to you the finest and most rare delicacy of Earth: coon! And some assorted rats, of course.” He presented the pack to Tavrin’s mother with a bow.

“Oh, Bost – always the entertainer. This will be a wonderful change to our meals,” she laughed. “I don’t know about you kids, but I have had quite enough of rats myself. There’s really only so many different ways you can cook them.”

Tavrin, Bost, and Lia wrinkled their noses at each other as Tavrin’s mother headed to the kitchen to prepare the coon.

“So when can I go out on a scavenging hunt with you guys?” Lia piped up as Tavrin and Bost dusted off their cloaks.

“When you can finally beat me in an arm wrestle,” Bost replied. Lia stuck her tongue out at him.

“Tavrin?”

“It’s really dangerous out there. We haven’t taught you everything you need to know to be safe yet,” Tavrin said. “Besides, you’re the only one who knows exactly how to keep Ma calm.”

“That’s not even a proper reason!”

“We’ll talk more tomorrow. Right now, let’s help Ma with getting dinner ready.”

It wasn’t long before the whole kitchen was filled with the tantalizing aroma of a hearty dinner. Tavrin and Bost set the table while Lia helped Tavrin’s mother to arrange the dishes.

They brought up their stools toward the table. “Well, this is just perfect. What better day to have such a feast than on your father’s birthday?” Tavrin’s mother sighed, hastily wiping away a tear from the corner of her eye. “Okay Lia, divvy up the dishes. Let’s eat.”

There was a solemn silence as Lia gave everyone their portions. Bost, as usual, tried to bring back the cheery mood. He glanced at his own bowl and stared at Tavrin’s.

“Hey Lia, Tavrin’s portion is definitely bigger than mine. Now why is that, I wonder?” Bost said with a wink.

Lia blushed and everyone smiled knowingly at her teenage crush on Tavrin. “Do you want more taken out of yours then?” she shot back. Bost quickly covered his bowl in mock horror at her suggestion.

It was the best meal they have had in a long time and they went to bed later than usual, chatting into the night. When Tavrin’s mother and Lia finally headed off to bed, Tavrin pulled Bost to the side.

“Okay, we’ll keep a lookout in two-hour shifts tonight. I’ll take the first one, alright?” Tavrin muttered. Bost nodded and went for bed.

Tavrin settled down on a stool by the door. For most of the first hour, he was on high-alert, listening to the eerie silence and the occasional whoosh of an Imperial Guard patrol hovercar. But it had been such a long day that he didn’t even notice himself leaning his head back on the wall and dozing off.

He bolted awake when he heard the sounds of heavy boots and shouts on the street outside. He peeked out the window from behind the curtain and surveyed the scene with a racing heart. Squads of Imperial Guard troops were being disgorged from hovercars and splitting off to cover every residence and the exits out of the residential area.

He ducked down immediately. A squad was heading straight for their front door. He rushed to wake up Bost, who went to wake Lia. Tavrin headed to his mother’s bed and told her an Imperial Guard squad is here for an inspection. Swallowing hard, she shuffled towards the front door just as it resounded with impatient pounding.

Tavrin and Bost lifted a hatch from the floor under the kitchen table and crawled in with all of their bedding. When Lia had safely replaced the hatch over them, Tavrin’s mother opened the door.

“This is an Imperial Guard inspection on suspicion of this residential area harbouring persons of military service capability. Please step aside for a search of these premises, ma’am,” barked the squad sergeant.

“Of course, sir, but it’s just my daughter and I living here,” Tavrin’s mother said with a tight smile.

“We’ll be the judge of that. Soldiers, you know what to do.”

The squad poured into the shack and confirmed that it only contained mother and daughter. The squad sergeant gazed around the shack and his glance fell on the kitchen. He strolled in and pulled open the fridge.

“That’s quite a lot of food for just the two of you,” commented the sergeant dryly as he turned to bore his eyes into Tavrin’s mother and Lia.

“I sometimes take care of a few of my friends’ children here during the day and they give us a bit of food to do so,” replied Tavrin’s mother as steadily as she could.

“I see. I guess we all have to make a living somehow in these hard times. Life must be very difficult for you indeed, especially with your daughter coming into military service age soon.”

“She still has a couple of years yet. But yes, it has been quite difficult, sir.”

“Well ma’am, I’m satisfied with our search here. If you don’t mind, I’m just going to perform a brief infrared scan of these premises to make sure there isn’t anyone who’s hiding out of eyesight. This won’t be a problem for you, I hope?”

Tavrin’s mother slowly shook her head. The sergeant gave her a thin smile and pulled out his scanner. It immediately gave off an incessant beep. The sergeant glanced down at the floor and stared at Tavrin’s mother for a few more seconds before shutting off the beeping scanner.

“I don’t know what to say, ma’am, as I was quite sure I gave you ample opportunity to be honest with me,” drawled the sergeant. “But unfortunately, you chose to disregard my efforts to make things easier on you all. So, civilities aside, let’s blow this cover wide open, shall we?”

The sergeant grasped one end of the table while another soldier stepped in on the other side to flip it over. The soldiers yanked the hatch open and reached down to pull out Tavrin and Bost. They struggled with all their might, but were quickly subdued and forced to kneel in front of the sergeant.

Tavrin’s mother cried out in despair and leapt at the sergeant. He shoved her back against the wall and struck her down with a vicious backhand.

“Ma’am, you are guilty of two counts of harbouring a person of military service capability – a crime which is punishable by death,” proclaimed the sergeant grimly. “This conviction would usually have been carried out before a magistrate, but in light of the lacking administrative support in these difficult times, you are hereby tried and convicted here on these premises, with my squad members as witnesses. I hope you reincarnate to a better life next time.”

With that, he drew his sidearm and shot her in the forehead, point blank. Tavrin, Bost, and Lia screamed simultaneously in shock as her body slumped to the floor. The sergeant turned to his soldiers without a second glance at the limp form of Tavrin’s mother.

“Take the girl to the cells. She can live out the two years left of her freedom there before serving in the Imperium military. Round up these two boys to the training facilities right away. Move out!”

“No! Bost! Tavrin! Help!” shrieked Lia as they dragged her away. Bost roared and bit the soldier holding him in the hand. Tavrin elbowed his captor in the stomach and in unison, they charged at the soldiers hauling Lia off. But they were only able to take two steps before stun bolts from the soldiers slammed into Tavrin and Bost.

Tavrin gazed weakly into his mother’s dimming eyes, still welling with endless tears, as Lia’s screams faded off into the distance. The blood-stained wall rippled and folded into the warped lines of the corrugated roof above before darkness consumed him completely.

You never really forget the soothing serenity of your mother’s womb as your infant self laid within, hearing only muffled echoes of the chaos in the outside world that you were shielded from. The memory is buried at the very core of your subconscious and is carefully preserved for the moments when the need to maintain an illusion of rippleless calm is all that prevents you from plunging into the churning undertow of insanity.

Even then, the memory only surfaces in fragments so fragile that the slightest shift in concentration shatters them into bursts of phosphorescence, leaving behind a vague imprint of their essence that is just enough to bolster your mind for a moment. It is no wonder that infants scream at their birth, acutely aware that they will never again experience such profound peace once they are brought into this roaring world.

Tavrin’s eyes snapped open as the roar crescendoed to drown out his own cry. Disoriented, he stared around wildly to take in the rows of soldiers strapped to their seats in front and to the sides of him. He looked down and realized that he was also in combat armour and was similarly strapped to his seat with a shoulder harness. Under the flickering red light in the cabin and the continuing roar, Tavrin’s memories slowly trickled back.

He is Corporal Tavrin Guan, serving with the 18th Massive Electronic Combat Hazard Armour (M.E.C.H.A.) Brigade of the Imperium Marine Corps for the glory of Emperor Commodus the 2nd, may He live for ten thousand years. The 18th M.E.C.H.A. Brigade is being mobilized to the Imperium’s frontier planets for an all-out assault against the Celestial Alliance and the Babylonians so that they may be brought to kneel before the Emperor, may He live for ten thousand years.

Tavrin shook his head. For a second, he thought there should have been more to his past than his loyal service to the Imperium. No, I’ve been a soldier all my life, he reminded himself. Fighting for the Imperium is all I’ve ever known.

As the troop transport ship passed Earth’s moon to approach the warp gate that would take them to the frontier planets, an image of a weary-looking woman with a boy and a girl laughing at a dinner table crossed through Tavrin’s mind. But the warp gate warning klaxon sounded at that moment and the image dissolved, lost in the entropy of hyperspace.