Chapter Text
"Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for you and all but..."
"But what? Do you think I don't have what it takes?"
"It's nothing like that. It's just that...well, it's you."
He grimaced.
The other continued. "You're the sentimental kinda guy, and well...you have that kinda...thing..."
"What thing!?"
The other frowned.
"You know...thing..."
"I don't know that 'thing;' explain that 'thing' to me already. What is it exactly about me?"
The other sighed.
"That 'thing' about you. You're a soft kinda guy."
He grinned. It wasn't a happy grin.
"I got it. Really. They wouldn't have chosen me if I wasn't qualified.
"...you sure?"
Pause
"They're just a bunch of rodents alright? I'm not like him. I can differentiate between people and animals. Alright.
"...Just...just keep your distance."
"...will do..." he said, "...will do."
-----
Mazel stood at attention as his commanding officer passed in front of young recruits. His cold eyes seemed to pierce his very essence as the man glowered disapprovingly at the chosen selection of enlisted men and women that stood before him. He didn't know if it was just him, but he seemed to stare even longer at him than the others around him; he was incredibly nervous and whether the old man could see through his prepared exterior was something he was unsure of.
The room was larger than needed be for the small band of sixteen teens in the room, but this wasn't something Mazel planned to voice out loud. He was one out of ten males and six females, none of the others he was familair with. He began to wonder what the current situation of the entire operation was if only a small number of people were selected; according to the rumors, there were usually at least fifty people enlisted in a campaign at minimum. The details of this campaign were incredibly vague, but the importance of it was seemed to be highly emphasized by all those around him. He would aid in the advancement of the Shenirian race and be known as a hero, that was all he knew. As a selected candidate, he was a little more than enthusiastic when he confirmed his spot as one of those who had taken on the task to have his name engraved in history.
After one last glance at the recruits, he turned heel and stood at the door as another, much taller man entered the room. Right off the bat, he noticed the various emblems on his uniform; the proof of one who had seen and fought many a battle. He had deep green eyes, a bald head and a salt and pepper mustache and beard. His face seemed impossibly stern, as if a scowl was permanently grafted to his face. Mazel began to wonder if he was actually ready for the task.
As the man stood at the podium, he gave one last glance at his select few and nodded before speaking.
"I am General Hull, the coordinator of the current 38th campaign. The sixteen of you have agreed to aid us in promoting the Shenirian colonization of Earth."
Mazel knew that much already. In fact, that what all the campaigns had been about.
General Hull continued, "Last month, we discovered a human underground city, hidden within an unclaimed area of the South-East District. We suspect them to have a rebellion that will counter the advancement of our species. Our detectors have discovered the possibility of carrying possible weapons of mass destruction. We have assumed that these weapons will be used against us in the form of retaliation."
Mazel felt a little more than nervous. He was sure he wasn't the only one.
There weren't many humans left. Most of them had been wiped out about twenty years ago since the arrival of his kind. The thought of some wild humans still remaining seemed foreign to him, let alone a whole city of them. Even more worrisome is that they seemed to have somehow retrieved formidable weapons on their own after the initial extermination.
Hull went on, "The details of the weapons are unclear; but according to the levels of energy depicted from our detectors, they may be enough to wipe out one quarter of the sectors within the South-East District. As such, a direct offensive attack isn't possible without massive casualties. Hence where you sixteen come in."
A wall-sized, holographic screen buzzed to life behind General Hull. Mazel looked higher to see a depiction of a chrome, circular band with a small encryptions on the underside. According the the diagram, it was a basically a less-than-fancy wristband.
"The sixteen of you are to infiltrate this underground city and report information about these weapons and their mechanisms and to disable them before they are put to use. Your task is to connect these explosive type short-circuiters to the mainframe of their generators to disable their power."
Mazel grew confused. As much as he felt he shouldn't have questioned it, there was a fallacy in the General's statement. Infiltrate an underground city built for humans? Given the obvious differences between the Shenirian race and the human race, they would be spotted immediately, no matter how stealthy they were. Were they purposefully tasked with a suicide mission? Or did the General have some incomprehensible strategic plan?
The cadets looked at each other briefly; the same thought on their minds. A young cadet with short red hair and bright green eyes rose her hand hesitantly, as if expecting to be executed on the spot. "Permission to speak sir?"
General Hull looked her way, causing her to flinch. "Permission granted."
The young girl seemed to wait a second and choose her words before making her voice known. "Given the size differences between Shenirians and the humans, isn't it, um, isn't a infiltration procedure unfeasible?"
The general didn't seemed bothered by the question. In fact, as uncharacteristic as it seemed to Mazel and perhaps the others, he smirked. Pressing several buttons on the side of the podium, he answered her, "Yes. Given our differences in scale, a successful infiltration would indeed be impossible."
The holographic screen shifted as another mechanism was depicted next to the ringlets.
"As such, you will be equipped with these."
The screen began to condense and split itself into two rows. Where there was empty space on the right side of the screen, another diagram of a ringlet materialized. Unlike the short-circuit devices, this ring seemed to glow a neon pink, with silver lingings tracing through the center. Mazel envisioned it as a thick connected glow stick. Upon closer inspection, he saw a small yellow ball of light inside seemed to circulate around the loop. There seemed to be a small hoop encircled on both sides of the ring.
"These bands are matter-manipulators. They condense and temporarily displace the molecular structure of the body. In short, they will reduce you to a human size for an extended amount of time. These are the key to your infiltration. "
It took a few seconds for his statement to finally click. "An actually shrink-ray?" Mazel thought, a little more than skeptical. While the Shenirian race was much more relatively advanced, the possibility of actually using a shrink ray seemed farfetched. But given the circumstances he laid down before them, he doubted that General Hull would joke about something like that.
"They must be recharged semiweekly in order to maintain your stature. You must also keep them on you at all times while infiltrating the city. Failure to do either will cause you to return to your normal size and may subsequently lead to the humans eradicating you. It should go without saying, despite our size difference, enough firepower can down one of you," General Hull said sternly. "I'm pretty sure most of you are still aware of your own weaknesses."
No one objected, not that they were expected to in the first place.
"In two weeks time, all of you are expected camouflage yourselves amongst the human populace and will be monitored closely once you have entered. Keep in contact amongst yourselves and keep vigilant over their activities. This campaign is suspected to last at least six months time at most. Time is at the essence. You all have been chosen as the best qualified of the incoming recruits for this mission and we trust that you know what is currently at stake. Until the time comes, you all are expected to meet here at this facility at eight-hundred hours daily for training and information sessions until then. Failure to comply will lead to serious consequences. Is that understood?" Hull demanded, not quite phrased as a question.
A sharp and simultaneous "Yes sir!" came from the young cadets. General Hull nodded.
"Good, then you are dismissed."
-----
Mazel dropped his files on his desk, and promptly hopped onto his bed, still fully clothed in his military attire.
So this was how it was going to be.
He felt drained from the anxiety; largely from the fact that he would be tasked with basically defusing something more powerful than an atom bomb, by first shrinking down to fit amongst left over wild humans. He didn't know what was more unnerving, the fact that somehow these humans had managed to create a weapon capable of blowing up several cities or the fact that he was one of a very select few that was tasked to handle the situation. He made no room for pride as the gravity of the situation made him wearier by the second.
Feeling the overwhelming need to lessen his stress, he turned to his side and put a hand on the floor and beckoned for his pet.
"Daze, come here."
He waited a few seconds. After a moment, a tiny young human appeared from behind his desk. The boy walked over to the bed where Mazel laid and stepped onto his open palm.
Carefully, Mazel sat up and placed his feet on the floor as he looked down at the human in his hand. Using a finger from his other hand, Mazel gingerly patted the boy's head. "I've been given a very big task today. If I succeed, I might make history. Doesn't that sound nice, Daze?"
True to his name, the young blonde boy in his hand didn't seem to react to his master's petting, at least outwardly; he merely stared at the gigantic head hovering over him with rather empty blue eyes. In a monotonous voice, he responded with a simple, "Yes sir."
Mazel gave a gentle smile; ever since he had taken in the young human from a friend that could no longer look after him, he had only known "Daze" to be a seemingly sad little creature. He never spoke above a monotone and only replied in the answers his master wanted to hear. In fact, according to his friend, ever since the human had been sent to training, he had always been like that. Mazel at times wandered how the training process for humans operated, but having observed Daze's disposition, he wasn't too keen to find out.
"I'll be a hero. I will be one of a few who will be able to save cities worth of people. Its amazing, isn't it?" Mazel asked, still patting the boy's rather matted and messy hair. The human didn't respond this time, not that Mazel always expected him to.
He went on. "I won't lie, it's kinda scary though; I have to actually shrink down to human size and actually walk around wild humans. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine me being around your size?"
Daze, despite hearing about how his master would trick other humans and reduce himself to around his size, only gave a slow shake of the head.
Mazel stopped petting Daze's head and reached into his pocket. He held up two wristbands, one thick and dark green and the other thin and neon pink. "With these, I can actually pull it off. I didn't know it was possible but I can! Its the pink one that'll handle nearly everything. I'll practically will be human sized!"
Mazel looked at his pet expectantly, silently hoping for some significant reaction. When he received none, he gave a sad sigh and lowered him back to the floor. "Nevermind, I'm kind of talking to the wrong person aren't I? Alrighty then, go to your cage, there are some things I still have to arrange."
Obediently, Daze walked to his silver-aligned cage situated between his desk and the corner and closed the door behind himself. He immediately walked to his small bed and lied down with a silent huff.
Once his human went into his cage, Mazel grabbed his papers form his desk and spread them across the floor. There were detailed diagrams of the bracelets he was given, charts of human customs, previous files of qualifications, instructions, and other important files that outlined his given objective. It was almost too much to take in.
Never did he think he would see the day that he would be one of the main actors in the Shenirian campaign; he would make his parents, friends and home proud. He would create a better future for the Shenirian race since they day they landed on Earth. He would help make those wild humans realize who they were dealing with, to show the foolishness of even thinking of opposing a species far above them. He thought he had no room for pride, but with a brief moment to take it all in, he realized that he could have at least a little.
With that thought, he looked at the two bracelets and smiled, feeling a tad bit more confidant in his abilities to participate in the 38th Campaign.