Lost To The Fates [Paimon]

[BubbleLord]

"Get your ass in! We're heading in!" The sergeant almost couldn't be heard over the sound of the AGR-400 helicopter taking off, a boxy craft of the budding nation of Insil.

You were drafted among the weak nation and much of your equipment was knock-off brands of more powerful nations or even nearly forty years ago. The modern world of Arret knew the year as 4032, where nearly two thousand of it had been in the dark ages where magic had been rumored to exist well beyond recorded dates. No proof had ever been found, but it was a world of those who believed.

So when a portal appeared in Insil, the military was mobilized to investigate if this was really part of those ancient legends. You were on that helicopter... you were part of the first ones through. That was five months ago.

And the portal closed four months ago.

-----

Camp Acre was quiet, the fencing rusted and the towers manned not with spotlights but with torches. The metal deployable structures of Insil that made it through seemed oddly fitted for the more archaic lighting capabilities. Thankfully, some tricky placement ensured they kept their camp well-protected.

The world of Tarre was wild, the forest around the camp cleared for nearly a mile to have built all of the structures that made the camp secure. One local village had been assimilated last month at the roughest point, the women now acting as whores to entertain the soldiers of Insil. They worked the land to the instructions of some specialists, but the soldiers of the Insil Armed Forces provided protection. It made them more feudal than a Republic as they had once been.

There was no help coming... and things were hard. There was no gas anymore, the two tanks of the camp silent atop their highest ground. Their turrets were handpowered, their optics the only powered parts to them. Solar panels kept the base's minimal power needs well-met, the beginnings of windmill rigging being done to a few of the taller buildings of the camp. A mix of modern power with more achievable wind was what kept their fridges running, their personal lighting on... the AC, the luxuries. There was talk that the portal was being mastered for care packages, that it was still open to some degree on the other side... but luxuries were little to you.

You step out of the shower, the running water one of the finer luxuries that were set-up and kept operative in this medieval-like world. The bunk's whore, a redhead human-like girl who stood five feet and seven inches tall with fair skin and blue eyes, was sitting nude with her shoulder-length hair swept over her right shoulder. A spoil of war, she had been marked with your squad's logo... but when they were wiped out last month, when you lost the last AGR-400 to malfunction, you were left the sole owner of them. You'd never really known your squadmates, their possessions accommodated to the camp's supply. That meant a bunk intended for twelve was now your own lofty home... it wasn't like the commanding officers wanted it. The lighting was poor and the bed small... even with all that space, their rooms had big beds and often a pair of girls to fuck.

You had essentially a slave, something unknown but required in this type of place where a translator and a sex toy was needed. You had a big bunk that could seem pretty empty with only your bed and the whore resting on it waiting for you. And as you looked at the mirror, you couldn't help but remind yourself.

Your fate was to be lost to this world... Tarre would be your home. Untapped and with only humans, the magic that opened this portal can't help but make you wonder what else lies out there. Will you become something more than what you could have been at Insil and on Errat? Or will you meet some cruel fate like death as many of your comrades had? Or, perhaps, something worse? Only time would tell.

 

[Paimon]

Eyeing his wiry frame and no longer regulation length black hair, Alex sighed and collapsed beside the girl, his illusions had been shattered long ago, but at least with no more squad to pretend around, he could at least drop the macho act, "Are you comfortable? I know some of the others in my squad were... less than kind, but I'm not like them."

He'd seen the barbarism his country men were capable of when trying to "uplift" the savages, and he wanted none of it. But it was clear that he was in the minority, and striking out on his own was as likely to lead to his execution as it was to meeting some horrible fate out in the world. High School Science or not, he doubted that he'd be able to really make anything that could make a difference in the long run. Black power's ingredients were easy, but all he could remember about the ratios was that it was very non-intuitive. Electricity was similar, knowing that moving magnets and copper coils were involved might let someone else figure it out. Assuming that they had both the copper and the magnet.

No, he'd need a team, and the first person he'd need on his side was the poor abused native who had every reason to want him dead.

 

[BubbleLord]

The red-haired native was quiet, looking to him as he sat down. He'd feel her hands on his thighs, the sex-slave looking down to his groin before looking up to the lengthy-haired male's face. Perhaps he was her type, based on the lewd grin on her lips... or perhaps she had grown accustomed to simply enjoying her new job as a cumdump.

"Do not... worry. My body, yours. My holes, yours. My master, you."

The only name that Alex would have heard about the girl was the one that his other Insil squadmates assigned her: Slutina. Degrading as it was, it had been barked at her for months between getting fucked facefirst into the floors, walls, and beds of the barracks. Slutina the Redhead carefully rose up, her D-cup breasts perkily bouncing as she moved her hands down to the front of her legs to point her bare ass and pussy at him. It was a position she'd grown used to using before his squad wiped out, one that offered herself and had won quite a few laughs. But even if he wanted to fuck her well-trained but tight native pussy, Alex wasn't going to quite get that chance. The door opened, the slave looking to the door and turning before bowing her head.

His commanding officer had arrived, one of the few who had survived multiple trips out. Captain Richter had been really one of the only reasons they had enough of the company to still operate and defend their base. His shoulders and body were wide from having done more manual labor in his experimentation. After all, Richter was one of the few who had the education fields and training from Insil's Officer's Academy to keep things working. The man's uniform camo green-black pants hid a cock that Alex had seen once or twice when he'd even returned somehow nude, a beast of a foot-long in there. His top was bare, however, exposing the scars of recently-healed arrow wounds along his muscled chest. His cap was about the only way that the natives always identified him, the bars of his command visible on the front of the green cap.

Walking further inside, Richter took the hat off his tanned scalp, his black hair still buzz-cut to regulation. Thankfully he hadn't enforced people to have the natives help cut their hair. After one had killed a soldier and been raped for two weeks, it set a standard of obedience that had since been obeyed over the last two months.

"Private Alex, I hope you aren't planning to fuck your new girl at the moment. While we had an agreement with the villagers, I'm not of the kind who's enjoyed the necessity of the few that were picked to serve as sex toys. But I won't judge you... few of the soldiers who came through are willing to submit to normal relationships when they have the chance to use a Tarre-native's hole." The 6'2 male moved further inside, Slutina's face flushing red as she watched that hardened chest of his from her bowed position.

"More importantly, I came to talk to you about a special promotion. With how you have no squad and the other squad leaders don't have the means to just take you on... I want you to become a Sergeant under my personal command. My command team is either dead or dedicated to keeping the base running these days, so all I can do is find a misfit I can utilize and hopefully recruit the smartest of the natives who have adjusted in the last few months. Your girl here will earn a uniform as part of your squad, so if you don't want to do it to serve your nation, then do it for the humanity of clothing her."

 

[Paimon]

Alex stands and salutes, "No sir, I've been... uncomfortable, with the way that my peers have been acting. We won't last long if we are seen as no better than the tyrants that currently lead them. Thank you for this opportunity sir, I won't let you down."

The was either broken, or knew well how she needed to act in order to keep the violence done to her to a merely sexual kind. Alex wasn't even sure that it was even possible to undo the damage that had been done to her, but his captain seemed to have offered him a first step.

 

[BubbleLord]

Whether or not the native girl was broken or trained wasn't important for the conversation, given Richter's nod and ignoring of the woman. "I am no fan of it either. But this world allows prostitution. And, though we did not share the information with many of you... there is a reason many of these girls were chosen, specifically." The commanding officer shifted his eyes to the still head-bowed Slutina, giving a small snap. The girl looked up and between them, then back to Richter... before her face began to flush red. Alex didn't have to be a genius to hear the dripping on the floor, the redhead gasping as she finally plopped down to her knees, her hands going down to her pussy as she rubbed and then even started fingering herself before them.

"I doubt you ever saw this... but all of the women we were given were convicts who had spells put on them. Specifically, they were deemed to be prostitutes as part of their family debt. Part of my deal was that in exchange, we would handle the punishment and oversight of their debts... and unlike the natives who would have raped and beaten these women, treated like nothing more than filthy cumdumps, your sergeant and others were ordered to ensure that they were kept clean, healthy, and not-pregnant."

His eyes turned to Alex, ignoring the girl gasping and moaning at their feet.

"I assure you... you'll be learning a lot more about the ones like her. You can rename her and treat her like a human if you wish... but understand that we keep the locals happy and I spent the last few months ensuring that they were treated far better than any of them would have treated them."

The man snapped again, the girl howling as she came on the spot, the floor staining itself lightly as Richter turned and moved toward the door. The girl was panting from her lust, looking hazily at Alex before smiling. Her tongue was out, making her look that extra bit more lewd... but there was no chance he was going to get to have fun now even if he wanted to.

"Get your knife and pack. We're going to the armory to get you outfitted and armed with a sidearm. We can produce ammunition, thanks to Agnew, but as you know rifles and the like are kept under key and only used on watch. But all sergeants carry sidearms in camp at all times... you'll do wise to consider what you'll do with her to ensure she can't get your weapon while you sleep. You're not going to be locking it up in your locker like your knife." The door opened, Richter moving outside and letting it shut once more. It was time for Alex to get moving... and since he was taking his pack, it was likely he wouldn't be back for a while... now as the time to give orders, if any, to the girl panting and watching him.

 

[Paimon]

Learning more of the depravity of the locals steels his resolve. And learning the kinds of magic that even back water towns have access to increases his fear for the long term chances of their survival.

Alex gathered his things, "Slutina," the name curdled on his lips, "I'm going to be heading out, and I don't know how long it will be until I get back. It looks like I'm going to be promoted, which means your role will become more important as well. I'm going to start calling you Alaina, which means valuable or precious. You can treat it as a title or a name, but keep it in mind while interacting with those of lesser rank. Your local knowledge is going to become a lot more important soon, and I'll have need of more than just your body. Your orders while I'm gone are to keep yourself clean and healthy, keep this barracks clean, and keep yourself sated. In that order. We might have to leave on a moments notice when I come back, so be ready."

Alex shoulders the last of his gear, and follows Richter out to the armory.

 

[BubbleLord]

Slutina, now Alaina, seems confused at the orders given to her. She does little more than weakly and confusingly nod as Alex gathers his things and leaves. Outside the barrack, the early morning sun was just starting to break as Richter took point. The camp was fairly large, encompassing a small village into the originally hundreds-supporting camp. The locals had kept the place at least somewhat populated given the loss of soldiers. A ceremonial building held the ashes of many soldiers that had been recovered, a native priest praying at its doorsteps as Richter led them beyond and toward the armor. It was the most recognized building thanks to the mortar, anti-air rocket turret, and machine gun emplacements along its roof. It was intended to be a fall-back position for the camp, if they were ever overrun. A few soldiers were posted at all times around and atop it, the townsfolk and non-escorted personnel required to stay outside of five feet from the building at a minimum. The soldier at the gate turned and opened the door for the pair as they passed inside, Richter slowing as they approached a desk in a room with barred doors leading to the various rooms containing gear. He could see his old squad's equipment on a table in the corner, too.

Quartermaster Agnew looked up from his work, the oldest soldier in the entire company, and gently put his pencil down. He was in his late forties, the glasses on his face making the dark-skinned soldier look even older. His hair had grown into a dreaded ponytail of black and grey, his brown eyes looking at the pair as he reached to a drawer and quickly pulled out a bundle.

A new camo-pattern green and black uniform, bearing the single "X" symbol of a sergeant within the Insil Armed Forces, was at the very bottom. Atop it was one of the few modern weapons in the entire Insil arsenal compared to the rest of the world, the Akalos .45. The pattern was black and blue, which seemed rather odd given the colors of Insil being their proud green and black... but there was one more addition that explained it. A blue armband, bearing a simple design that looked like something from a fantasy novel. Richter grabbed the band, turning and offering it to Alex.

"This is to be worn at all times, save those when you strip naked for personal reasons, understand? This logo will be your badge and our symbol to everyone out there. It's the closest thing to a translation of our nation into their rune language. If you ever need to enslave someone, make any official documents, or need a symbol to reflect our actions to figure out how to survive? This will be the one you use... understood, Sergeant?"

The quartermaster had got up by now, moving over to gather up a few field rations and the like, clearly brought over from mess storage. It was clear he was being prepared for some sort of task... they were getting everything needed to go out into the field.

 

[Paimon]

"Yes sir."

Alex was well aware of the importance of symbols, and he hoped that this one could come to represent one that he could be proud of. Taking the arm band, he attaches it to himself. "Will we be displaying this symbol along side our flag sir?"

 

[BubbleLord]

"You'll wear it over it." Richter adjusts the armband to cover the flag, waiting for the food to be brought forward before continuing. "You're going to be heading out to do a bit of scouting... primarily to get your roots in some basic training with our recon team. You weren't specialized, but your tests showed you had a capacity to become almost any profession within the armed service branch if you'd had more time to train. So we're going to have you actively field-training a recon specialization... you'll become the eyes and ears of our camp soon. They think they've found another tribe of humans... your job will be to confirm it and make contact based on your best decision in the field... understood?"

 

[Paimon]

"Understood. What level of support will I have while in the field? Who will my team consist of?"

 

[BubbleLord]

"None and, until you make contact, just our two surviving scouts. Once you've made contact, they are to be sent back to relay your status and bring back your initial findings report." Richter extends a hand holding a small recorder. "You turn it on, you make an oral report... then you give it to them."

Agnew cleared his throat, motioning to all the supplies for Alex to pick up. Richter looks to the quartermaster for a moment before nodding and then looking back to Alex.

"I won't lie, Sergeant... the local chief seemed pretty alarmed when we mentioned the presence of others. The magic they used on these locals was given to them by traveling mages for a service... he believes that these individuals that were rumored to be spotted might be an allied village to those merchants. If that's the case, then it could be quite possible you'd meed the first real magic user... but it could simply be someone skilled with technology disguising themselves as magic-users. That threat alone warrants the most extreme caution while you're making contact. Find out if there is a magic user and determine whether to enlist them... or determine when best to kill them."

 

[Paimon]

"Yes sir. If this magic user is somehow able to suborn me, will there be a check when I come back to make sure I'm sufficiently myself? Are we going to create a procedure for those of us travelling that way? I have no desire to be turned into someone's puppet."