"Well Jack what story does you want to hear tonight?" Josh Agnail said to his grand kid.

"I want to hear how you became a Free Marine"

"Well . . . If I take out the blood and guts and death and . . . " Josh replied

"Oh come on grandpa I'm 7 I can handle it." Josh's eyes widened with hope of another bedtime story.

"Ok, ok, but this is between you and me, your dad can't know or he'll feed me the Croca-Dolphins." Josh said with a grin. "It all started a long time ago"

"I was twenty-four one of 14 to make it back from the raid on Gorotha's Citadel from a strike force of 1,500. I decorated a war hero, I was given some comforts around the camp which others would not have dreamed of asking for. Like hot water for instance. I was cruising through life. My days were wakes up in a bar with a major handover and with some women names Cindy. Do a boring two-hour patrol. Go back to the bar and drink until I fell asleep. I was not a bad life, better than trench duty which was left to the greens. It went on like that until the war with Imperial came and Capital was losing bad. I did some minor raids on supply depots and such, but nothing major.

The war was coming to an end. Capital casualties were double Imperial, Sector Command found a way to rectify the problem.

My squad and about three others were assigned to take out a large Imperial barracks seven klick though rough Venusian jungle. At last revenge I thought. We walked for two hours before arriving at our destination. All four squads belly crawled all the way up to the tree line surrounding the Barracks. I could not see the barracks because of the dense foliage around me. The Sergeants decided that the best way to go was a frontal attack. "Frontal on an armed Barracks is your mad Srg." I whispered. "I have a hunch ti won't be very hard" He replied giving me a strange look. "Charge" the orders came over the Com-link. All 32 Troopers burst out of the Jungle guns blazing at anything that moved. I too did t hat shooting at building or anything that could house HMGs and snipers. Then I realized, There was no Imperial soldier at all. All there was way a running crowed of frenzied Imperial farmers running to find their children to protect them. I froze, I couldn't figure out what was going on, this was no barracks so why had us been sent here. Other trooper's did not share my confusion in the matter.

"Imperial is Imperial" They used to say. All the troopers accept me raced into the village. Killing anybody, they saw, robbing, burning, killing anything that didn't have a capital logo on it.

I raced into the village shouting at them not to kill these people. They were just civilians, but they wouldn't listen. They were all too caught up in killing helpless families, burning their homes, and stealing their money. I pleaded with them but none would listen. I fell to the ground in grief and shame, the corporation that I had fought for was kill innocent civilian just to raise the Imperials body count. When I woke, the village was burned to the ground and the now disorganized squads were leaving an o walk back to camp. Everybody except me was holding a trophy, someway to remember how they had slaughtered 400 innocent civilians. I walked behind the group my body weak with grief. When we got back to camp. The sector general was waiting to congratulate us on our victory and shaking very trooper's hands one by one. I was the last soldier in the group. The general walked over to me reached out his pale white hand. I reach out my hand grab his pull out my pistol and send a bullet though his head, blasting is to shreds. Immediately I have 40 armed troopers pointing guns at me. I got flung into the brig until they could give me a trial. But that never happened. When the news of a Capital strike force killing innocent civilian, Capital immediate said that the Sector General was tainted with Dark Symmity and used his rank to give an illegal order. I became a hero, a role model to the young. To help my status as a role model I was put into the most notably special forces around the Free Marines."

"And that is how I became a Free Marine" I finished "Now go to bed, and don't let the Darkness bite"

Josh Agnail
Capital Free Marine (Retired)