#wrongfully blamed

“Taking a break, Thnam?” A voice behind him made him jump before he realized it was Lieutenant Jiqu. He pushed himself off his stomach and quickly stood to his feet. He saluted, making Jiqu chuckle softly. “At ease.”  

“Sorry, sir,” Alekoran lowered his arm but couldn’t fully relax, “Just… taking in the view, I guess?”

Jiqu smiled at him, which did help Alekoran to relax more. As second-in-command of their platoon, the Lieutenant was far easier to talk to compared to Captain Imadaal, and though he still expected the best from Alekoran and the other troops, he also looked out for them.

“It is something, isn’t it?” Jiqu said as he looked out across the ruined landscape. Alekoran’s eyes followed his. “How’s our timetable looking for getting across?”

Alekoran looked down at the tablet he had been charting a path in. “I’ve laid out a path following the railway sub routes in order to avoid the main rail and primary roads through the city. It should take about three days to clear the city, then another four days to reach Kanalaya.”

“May I?” Jiqu reached out his hand to see the tablet. Alekoran handed it to him, feeling confident in his planning for their safety. The Lieutenant had mentioned in the past just how impressed he was with Alekoran’s ability to map and guide their group through such treacherous terrain. He seemed to have a knack for it. As his eyes scanned over the layout, Jiqu still spoke to him.

“And how have you been doing, Thnam? I know this is your first official deployment, and it’s not exactly ideal to be this close to the Diçian side of the border.”

It’s really not. Alekoran thought to himself. He wouldn’t have signed up for the Pax Rebel army if he didn’t feel ready to take on the risks, but nervousness still nagged at him, especially when he considered where they were. But he wanted to be strong for the cause. He wanted to show Imadaal, Jiqu, and everyone new and old in his platoon that he was ready for the challenge. He clenched his fists tightly together and smiled.

“I’m doing alright, sir. It’s exciting finally being a part of the action!” His eagerness finally began to show, and it made Jiqu smile.

“Heh, that’s good to hear, Private.” His praise warmed Alekoran’s chest. “Not everyone can hold on to that same vigor out here considering the risks. I’ve been out here so many times, sometimes it’s tricky to fight the urge to go back where you know it’s safe.”

“How do you fight it, sir?”

Jiqu inhaled deeply as he looked back up at Alekoran. There was a long, sad look in his eyes. “Some days you’ll feel like you can’t. Those days, you have to think about what’s at stake, what it means to be here in order to protect what’s important to you. Well, you might be too young to understand.”

“I think I do a little bit, sir,” Alekoran nodded, “My dad and his family had to run from the Council to Paxen territory when he was 72 so they could have a better life, and I wanna make sure that he and my Mom can have a good life.”

The smile on Jiqu’s face warmed more. It made Alekoran wonder what in his life he had to protect, to think about while so far away from home.

“I’d say that’s pretty honorable of you, Private. Not many young men have those thoughts in mind when they sign up.” Jiqu glance back over the tablet and gestured Alekoran to look over it with him. “This looks good, but I suggest we take this route through the downtown. See? It should take about 15 hours off our travel time.”

Alekoran’s eyes followed where his finger traced along the map. It almost completely bypassed one of the tunnel systems, instead bringing them up to the surface again. Alekoran’s brow furrowed with concern. “Uh, sir, that’ll take us through one of the main roads… We’ll be out in the open for quite a while.”

Jiqu nodded, but he didn’t seem entirely bothered by the idea. He handed the tablet back to Alekoran, who ran his fingers along the edges of it nervously. Seeing his anxiousness, Jiqu placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We’ll be alright, Private. The Captain and I know that the last Diçian brigade came through dœlae ago. They’re long gone from this place. You remember the briefing we were all given before leaving?”

“Yes, sir.” He remembered. He still didn’t fully understand the information he was given. Perhaps his understanding of it didn’t matter that much.

“Well, we need to get to Kanalaya as soon as possible so they can receive the full briefing too. It’s just more efficient this way, given how important this intel is. Understand?”

“Yes, sir, I understand,” Alekoran nodded. He redrew that section of the route on his tablet and saved the changes. The idea of being out in the open within the city’s confines, even with no Diçians to run into, still didn’t sit right in his gut. But the Lieutenant knew what it was like being out here before. He had to trust him, and he did.

They would be alright.

“That’s good, Private,” the Lieutenant said as he gave the map another look, “Go ahead and report your findings to Captain Imadaal, then meet up with your Sergeant and squad. No doubt we’ll be underway shortly.”

“Yes, sir!” Alekoran saluted quickly and left Jiqu to give the Captain his report. He noticed him looking back out across the landscape, that same longingness hanging over him like before. He must be nervous too, Alekoran thought. Three days, and they would be out of here. He wouldn’t have to bear the eerie silence much longer.

---

Alekoran’s legs grew tired from the long hours of walking that brought them halfway across the ruined city. Their day and a half of trekking finally brought them along the corrected path Jiqu laid out before their journey. The rubble-ladened ground left the wheelers in their group walking slowly on foot. The rest stayed closed, unwilling to spread out too far in this open space. It wasn’t anything Alekoran couldn’t handle, but it did make the hours drag on endlessly.

He and Macxè walked together, side by side. Since their visit to Dairukus, Alekoran found himself drawn to spending time with him even more than they had before. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but he just felt better, happier around him. He wondered if he could count their excursion together that day as a date, and it made him smile. They chatted almost the entire time, up until this stretch of the path when the Captain ordered all of them to remain silent. Alekoran looked forward to when they fell back into his original path and they could chat again and break the silence here. It was worse out here in the city.

There aren’t even birds here…

The platoon continued on through a gullied slope in the central walkway through downtown. With the exceptions of the few remaining buildings that towered above them, all markers of what made a thriving city were scattered across the streets. Alekoran watched Captain Imadaal and Lieutenant Jiqu stay ahead, Jiqu climbing towards the top of a heap of rocks. He stops and raises a fist in the air, the signal for everyone to stop in place. Alekoran watched his movements carefully. He can’t see what it is that would give cause for them to stop here.

Several moments in silence pass, and Jiqu still hadn’t given the all-clear for them to keep moving. Alekoran looked to Macxè with worry, wondering if they should be doing something. The long wait started to aggravate the Captain as well.

“Lieutenant, what is this? Explain yourself,” Imadaal said to him. Jiqu didn’t say anything, didn’t even look at the Captain while being addressed. He was acting strange, unlike anything Alekoran or any of them had seen him before. Alekoran’s eyes followed his hand as it reached for a flare gun strapped to his belt and raised it in the air. The bang as it fired was nearly deafening through the silence, and the light that rose into the sky rained horror down upon them.

“What the fuck!” The words leave his mouth before he can think to stay silent. The same panic ran through the rest of the platoon, blasters raised in confusion from seeing the Lieutenant set off a flare here of all places. The flare slowed to its peak several hundred feet in the air, before gradually gliding down. Instinctively, Alekoran grabbed Macxè’s arm and drew close to him. Whatever was going on, he wanted to make sure they were near each other. Both of them watched Captain Imadaal grab Lieutenant Jiqu by the collar of his jacket and scream at him in anger.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Captain Imadaal growled viciously at him. Jiqu remained silent, a hard look on his face but he didn’t resist. All of the platoon watched the Captain throw Jiqu down the rocks. He rolled down to level ground, his uniform dirtied and torn in a few places. All eyes were on him, but he refused to meet any of them. Alekoran’s heart was racing.

What did he do…?

“Cuff that traitor!” Captain Imadaal yelled. “Battle positions! Prepare for incoming forces!”

That Captain’s orders prompted the troops to gather themselves and fall in line with their defense. Alekoran and Macxè follow suit, watching as their Sergeant Tzimer lifted Jiqu up and cuffed his wrists behind him. Alekoran himself was still in shock, nervous since none of them knew exactly what he was doing and why. Maybe they shouldn’t be worried about that now, and be more concerned with protecting themselves out here. He drew his blaster and kept his eyes trained on his surroundings. His brain was still buzzing, trying to find anything out of the ordinary that threatened them. He glanced to the sky for just a moment to see something small flashing against the light.

It was too late to warn anyone before the projectile landed in the center of their group.

Alekoran expected a bomb from the small pyramid-shaped object that hits the ground. Only a few others noticed it in time to watch its flaps open and a loud, high-pitched noise filled the air. The sound grated against Alekoran’s eardrums, and he dropped his blaster and pressed his palms against his ears. It didn’t help, didn’t help anyone in the platoon as they collapsed to the ground screaming from the noise.

Alekoran isn’t sure just how long it lasted. It was almost like a scream, one he couldn’t ignore or escape. He squeezed his eyes shut, pleading for the pain to end. He couldn’t even hear his own screams above it.

The sound finally stopped. It took Alekoran a few moments before he fully realized it past the ringing it left in his ears. He was still shaking, but opened his eyes. The barrel end of a blaster filled his view. He froze in place, unable to tear his eyes away from it.

“I said get up, Rebel!” The Diçian holding the blaster shouted at him. They pressed the blaster firmly to his forehead. Alekoran’s hands went up as he scrambled to his feet, fear coursing through him as they rushed him towards the others. He finally saw just how bad their situation was. Diçian troops surrounded them everywhere on the ground and in the air, outnumbered at least four to one. The sound emitted by that pyramid device forced all in the platoon to drop their weapons and gear, leaving them defenseless as the Diçians came out from hiding and trapped them. There was no choice but to surrender to them.

“Keep moving,” the Diçian leading Alekoran forward shoved the end of their blaster into his back. He whimpered quietly, nearly tripping over his own feet as he joined the other members of his platoon. His hands behind his head, he stood by Sergeant Tzimer and tried to see where the other members of his own squad were. He started to panic when he didn’t see Macxè right away.

“Private,” Tzimer spoke to him in a hushed voice, “Are you alright?”

“O—Okay,” Alekoran replied, his voice trembling, “What’s—What’s happening? Where’s Macxè?”

“He’s next to me, he’s not hurt… I don’t know what’s happening, Alekoran. But we can’t fight like this. Just cooperate for now, alright?”

Alekoran nodded. He leaned forward just enough see Macxè standing at Tzimer’s other side. Macxè trembled just as badly as Alekoran did. Past him, he could see Captain Imadaal standing apart from the rest of them, guarded by three Diçian soldiers. Jiqu was on the ground on his stomach, his hands still cuffed behind him. The Captain’s eyes were trained on him in an enraged glare.

“Well, that went far smoother than I anticipated,” a voice near Imadaal spoke out, “Someone free that Rebel before he dirties himself any further.”

Two soldiers came and lifted Jiqu to his feet. The cuffs fell away and he brushed the dirt off the front of his uniform. That hard look in his expression from before hadn’t left, and his eyes looked to the ground as the leader of the attacking party approached him.

“You’ve done very well, Lieutenant Jiqu,” she said to him with a smile, “No exchange of fire or injuries. If only it were this easy to capture all Pax Rebels.”

He betrayed us… Alekoran felt a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach at the thought. Jiqu betrayed us… He sold us out… He used us… He used me…

“I certainly hope the information they carry warrants all of this trouble,” she crossed her arms in front, “And worth your entry across our border.”

“It is,” Jiqu voice lowered to a near grumble, “Each of us was given one piece of a dataset for a Rebel weapons development facility and its security clearance codes. You’ll need all of it in order to gain access.”

The Diçian leader retrieved a datapad from her pocket and handed it to him. “Your piece, here. You’re free to go once I have it.”

Alekoran felt a burning anger in his chest as he watched Jiqu take the datapad and enter his information. He betrayed them. He gave them up to the Diçians and he used Alekoran to get away with it. Alekoran’s vision blurred. It felt like he would pass out from the rage and shock buzzing in him.

“On behalf of the Dicio Council, I thank you for your service and generosity,” the Diçian leader said as Jiqu returned the datapad to her, “I have arranged for a guide to accompany you on your journey into Diçian territory. He’ll have a map and vehicles ready as you cross over.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

“You fucking traitor,” Captain Imadaal growled at him. Jiqu took a deep breath in, but didn’t look at him or anyone else. The Diçian leader directed him towards one of her troops, perhaps his guide to the border. Alekoran couldn’t understand why he wanted to go there. What was so important there that he was ready to give up his team, his friends? Alekoran and the rest of the platoon watched with hate in their eyes as Jiqu went with the guide and walked over the rubble, disappearing within minutes through the ruined buildings.

“Alright, let’s get them moving!” The Diçian leader shouted to her troops. Alekoran and the rest of his platoon were ushered forward down the road, Captain Imadaal led towards the rest of them. Alekoran stayed close to Tzimer and Macxè, afraid of what could happen if they were separated. He caught a glance of Captain Imadaal joining him, and flinched when their eyes met with his anger.

“You!” Imadaal rushed up to Alekoran and grabbed the front of his jacket. He gasped in fear, his feet leaving the ground as the Captain lifted him off the ground. “You’re the scout that gave me that map! You led us out to this sector! This is all your fault! Were you working with that traitor, huh? Were you?!”

Alekoran’s heart was racing. “N-No, no, sir, I—”

Imadaal slapped him across the cheek and let him fall to the ground. He landed on the ground with a thud, the instinct to run and cower growing as Imadaal towered above him.

“Don’t fucking move, Rebel!” The Diçian soldiers turned their blasters to Imadaal, but he didn’t seem fazed by them.

“You little kharra,” his voice trembled in fury, “You might have just sent us all to our deaths!”

“Captain! Enough!” A figure came between Imadaal and Alekoran. He realized it was Tzimer, using himself to blockade any further harm from coming to Alekoran. Macxè came to his side as he trembled on the ground, one hand held up to his stinging cheek.

“That little brat helped that traitor Jiqu, Sergeant!” Imadaal yelled at him, “I should have him court-martialed and shot for this!”

“No! Lieutenant Jiqu used him, like he used you and me and all of us!” Tzimer snarled back at him. “You will not blame one of my men for something that your Lieutenant did!”

The Captain glared at Tzimer, but said nothing else for several moments. His eyes eventually turned to the blasters held close to his head, and relaxed his posturing to allow them to lead on. Tzimer turned and helped Macxè pull Alekoran to his feet as the rest of the platoon slowly started walking again.

“Are you okay?” Macxè asked him in a low voice. Alekoran nodded but his voice was frozen on his tongue. His cheek still stung from the Captain slapping him, feeling overwhelmed and shaking in place. It felt like a bad dream, one he wished he could wake up from in moments. But the pain lingered too long and he leaned gently into Macxè’s side.

“Alekoran, listen to me… this is not your fault, do you understand?” Tzimer said as he brushed dirt off Alekoran’s back, “It’s not. We’ll figure out what to do once they stop us, okay?”

“Yes, sir,” Macxè answered for both of them. He intertwined his fingers into Alekoran’s hand and held him up as they walked on. Each step was an exercise in willpower, but Alekoran kept his eyes trained to the ground. He squeezed Macxè’s hand tightly, the one sensation that didn’t hurt him here. Putting his trust in him, he let Macxè lead them forward, following their captors commands to wherever the would be held as prisoners. Imadaal was far ahead of them now, but he could still feel his hateful glare on his skin. He tried not to let tears fall from his watered eyes.

It’s not my fault. It’s not my fault.

It’s not my fault.

I didn’t mean it.

I didn’t, I swear…

I trusted him. He used me, and I trusted him…