Uniting Marines (part 1)

Posted on Wed Jun 13th, 2012 @ 4:23am by 1st Lieutenant Kara Melo & Private 1st Class Trent Kushner

820 words; about a 4 minute read

ON

Kara Melo slipped quietly out of a tent, sheathing the small stiletto knife. It was small by necessity so it would slip past the attention of the guards. She'd lost her better knife to one of the Sector Bosses shortly after she arrived. After that long night where she learned how brutal and merciless people could be down here, she swore she would never let a man do that to her -- or anyone else -- again. She tried not to let the memories of that night keep her from sleeping. Working nights helped, but not enough.

So, when one of the guards cornered her and tried to rape her, she fought back. At least he wouldn't hurt anyone else. The brute had a well-deserved reputation. A reputation that would die with him. It gave her a grim satisfaction. She stopped in the shadows and listened. Footsteps heading towards the tent. Had he been missed so soon? The footsteps paused, then continued. Good. She had a little more time to get away.

She'd have to leave the sector. Once they found the guard they'd check every female in the area. Kara knew they'd find blood on her and her knife. Primitive as this place was, they had equipment to find blood residue. And if they found that, they'd kill her, even if it was self defense.

She slipped around a corner, looking for the best way to get to a sector crossing. This sector was far too dangerous for her.

Footsteps behind her made her turn sharply. "Trent?"

"Kara?" Trent asked, equally confused. He had to shake his head a few times for his eyes not to see in doubles.

Trent wasn't in the greatest of shape. He had a nasty gash on his head that he didn't remember getting and a number of surface cuts all over his body. He couldn't be sure if his double vision was as a result of the head injury or blood loss.

The war in Sector 2 had begun and it quickly got wildly out of control. Trent, being one of the few inmates with a real weapon, quickly made a target of himself for the opposing gang. Worse than that was becoming a target for the guards who quickly swarmed the area in attempts to subdue the inmates. With precious few options, death by inmates or death by guards, Trent decided flight was the most prudent course of action. WIth all of the chaos going on he managed to slip through the crowd and hitch a ride on one of the elevators going to the lower levels. He even managed to hold on to his gun, which he later used on a guard watching this end of the line.

"Are you okay?" she asked, coming closer to check the wound on his head. "What are you doing in here?" She knew him well enough -- or thought she did -- to know he wouldn't be trusted. He wouldn't align himself with the toads running the sectors.

Maybe he could help her find someplace safe. Or, as safe as possible in a place like this.

"I'm being any place but up there." He said with a glance at he solid rock over head. "There is a whole lot of unpleasantness going on. Have you found any of the others...Sergeant?" He reminded himself a little late that this was someone he needed to answer to.

"There's no rank in here," Kara said quietly, not wanting anyone to know her rank -- or that she was a Marine. Not in here. "You're the first person I've recognized since they split us up a month ago. What are you doing in this sector?"

"I've kind of been chased out of the upper sectors by...everyone. There is a pretty big gang war going on and the Fleeties up there have for the most part lost their sense."

"Are any of them from the Caly?" Kara asked.

"A few. Captain York has gotten together a number of the stragglers. Most of them are combat ineffective from my stand point."

"They're Fleeties. Was the Commander with them?" Kara had yet to see or hear from Commander Raine, but she hoped he'd found his way to the others.

He shook his head. "I saw him briefly when I was down here about a week ago. Why? Did he say he was going to try for a Sector dash?" Trent readily assumed that Kara would have seen him by now if she was in these lower Sectors.

"I haven't seen him, or anyone from the ship," Kara said quietly. "I've spent the past month avoiding trouble. Or trying to." She wondered how long it would take for someone to find the body. "We need to find him and get to a safer Sector."

(To be continued...)

Staff Sergeant Kara Melo
Platoon Leader

Private 1st Class Trent Kushner [Damon]
Marine

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