The Recruit
By; Gerald A. Polley
Chapter 1
Muhammed Imal sat in his cell in a noisy prison. He had thought
the pirates he had associated himself with, would guarantee that he
would be well off for the rest of his life. But only two months
after he had joined the group The Republic had come. Their attack
had been stunning and overwhelming. Imal had been captured in his
sleep. He had never even been able to put up a fight! Now,
quick trials were taken place, and his associates were being
hung. These people didn't play games! And they seemed to
know every little thing.
He heard
rattling. A guard came and opened his door. That The Republic had
women tending the male prisoners tended to embarrass him, especially
when they made him strip off and wash. But he did appreciate the
clean clothes, and, the good food. He'd been better fed than he
ever had been in his life!
The guard
opened his cell and snapped "Come on!" There was another guard
with her, younger, and more attractive. They took him out into
the courtyard and stood him before another woman sitting at a
table. She looked up and smiled. "Don't look so terrified,"
she teased, "you're not going to be hung today. You might not be hung
at all! I'm here to make you an offer. The statement you
made checks out, that you're a new recruit and haven't actually been
involved in anything. You seem pretty bright! So, we'll
offer you this...ten years in one of our labor colonies, or, five years
service in our military, a two month's training course before you start
your service. Then, we'll give you some work in one of our
colonies, if you don't want to continue in the military. Many do.
All you have to do is sign this document stating that you were, indeed,
a pirate, which you now regret, and wish to be of service to the world,
also this document agreeing that you enlist in our military.
You've been instructed on our Law. You understand what will be
allowed and what will not be allowed?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Imal answered. "That's all I have to do?"
"That's all!" the woman answered. "You won't be taken back to
your cell, you'll be taken to a dispersal center, put on an aircraft,
and flown to a training center."
Imal shook his head. "I thought you people were merciless," he remarked.
All the women laughed. "Only when we have to be," the recruiter
answered. Imal took the pen and signed the documents. The
recruiter picked up a paper. "Oh! In your report you said
your district commander sexually assaulted you before he'd let you join
his troops. I think we'll let you be a witness. You'll only
have to wait an hour. Take him to the holding area!"
A few minutes later Imal was in a comfortable area with several
others. The door was not locked, the restroom facilities were
outside, and they were able to use them without escort. One of
his fellows remarked "They seem to be awfully trusting!"
"I don't think we'd get very far," Imal answered, "if we tried to leave!"
Finally, a man came and ordered them to follow him. They were
taken into a courtyard where there were several hundred men and women,
and were positioned by a wall. There was a gallows on the other
end of the courtyard. In a few moments his district commander was
brought up the gallows steps, naked, struggling between two large,
muscular men. He was brought to the center of the gallows, the
rope put around his neck, his legs spread, and kept apart with a wooden
pole. Then the officer in charge read the warrant of death,
stating that he had been found guilty of sexually assaulting young men
and forcing them into his service. The penalty for that crime was
death, and that sentence would now be carried out. The officer
and guard stepped back, the executioner pulled the lever, and the
commander dropped, jerked for a few moments, then went limp. The
gathered crowd, most of whom, had suffered at his hands for years
cheered, and applauded. Imal wanted to be sick, but also there
was a bit of satisfaction, a sense of justice. He hadn't wanted
to do what the commander made him do, to have a safe place to sleep and
something to eat. Watching him jerk had given him a sad kind of
satisfaction.
"Recruits!" their escort snapped, "Follow me!"
They were taken to an airfield and put on a plane. Food and
beverage was passed around as soon as the plane took off. They
had been flying for some time when one of his companions remarked, "You
know, I'm going to be very, very sure that anyone I do it with wants to
do it. I understand if they don't hang you they castrate you if
they catch you! I think that might be worse!"
"Yeah!" everybody else agreed, including Imal. "That most
definitely would be worse!" But he didn't' think he was going to
mind being with these people. One of the other recruits looked at
him and asked,
"You going to be going to school? If we go to school we'll only have to work half the day."
"That's not why I'll be going to school," Imal answered, "I'll be going
to school because I want to learn. I think if I learn I may do
very well with these people."
"Yes! Yes! Of course!" his companion agreed, "Absolutely! Me, too!"
Imal sat back and thought again about his commander swaying up there on
the end of that rope. "I'm definitely going to keep the rules!"
he muttered, "These people deal with things very quickly. They
simply don't mess around! They simply don't!"
For the rest of the trip he just enjoyed the ride until he began his
new life, which he sincerely believed was going to be a good
life. He really believed that. He believed that with all
his soul.
Page 1