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Not many people ask what it’s like to be a part of the Goethian Empire’s army. It’s a shame really; it’s quite an interesting life. And yes, I know working for evil galaxy conquerors isn’t exactly what some would call interesting or even ethical. But consider the situation my whole people were in; Disthor’s winters had become more and more inhospitable, and food was growing scarcer. We all had mouths to feed, families to support and the goddess refused to give us respite. During our worst winter, people went to…extremes to stave off starvation. People…entire families…were killed to make sure there was enough food to go around. Often times it was quick and painless but others were cast off, left to the harsh forces of nature to rot. It’s…not a period I look back on fondly.
With such horrible conditions, it’s easy to see why my people what they did. I was just another hand on a hunting ship and our crew had come back to the village, empty handed, when we saw them. Standing in the dead center of the village were what we come to know as the Goethians, clad in their black and violet military uniforms, nearly blending in with the snow swirling all around us.
One of the strange visitors stepped forward, a smile on his face as he approached us. “Hello there, sorry for the sudden drop in,” the smiling figure said to us, “Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are the Goethian Empire; we seek help with our plans for the galaxy and we think you might be of help to us. May we see who’s in charge around here?”
At that moment, our chieftain, Irik, came in; angrily demanding to know what was going on. “What are you trespassers doing here!? Leave here at once!”
The grinning man approached our chief and calmly replied, “I take it you’re the leader. My name is Baella, one of the generals of the Goethian Army. I want to make a proposition to you, one leader to another.”
By that point, Irik raised his arm towards Bael, revealing a blade in the place of a hand, pointed directly towards the general’s neck. “I said to leave interloper! Do you not understand? You are not wanted here!”
Even with a weapon aimed straight at him, the one calling himself Bael remained completely calm and simply turned towards a nearby Goethian. “Barbatz,” the general said, “would you be as kind as to show them our offer?”
A hunched over Goethian with a long, droopy neck nodded, coming forward with a chest in one hand. He set the chest down and opened it, revealing its contents for everyone to see; the chest was filled with what appeared to be meat, fruits and vegetables, all fresh and well prepared. The meat was neatly cut and preserved, its juices still glistening even in the flurry of the snow, while the vegetables and fruits radiated with health and color.
Irik lowered his weapon as the rest of the village hurriedly gathered around the chest, transfixed by the contents, gasping in shocked. Some villagers even burst into tears of joy upon seeing the food, thanking, and crying out praises for our goddess Apua. Even Irik was now circling around the chest, transfixed by what he was seeing.
“Is…is this real?” choked out our chief, eyes still on the bounty.
Baella’s smile grew wider as he replied, “It’s all real my friend…and there’s more where this came from! We’ll be happy to set your people up with a steady stream of supplies; we just need one thing from your people.”
Upon hearing this, our chieftain turned his attention towards the Goethian, a grimace on his face. “Name your price…”
To keep a long story short, a deal was reached between the Goethian Empire and the people of planet Disthor; the Empire would keep the Wodans fed and well cared for and in return, the Wodans would serve as their loyal foot soldiers. You could judge us all you want but remember the situation my people were in; it was either a deal with the devil or rotting in hell. And with that, the strongest men and women of our tribe were now in the service of the Empire, serving as their top muscle.
Things weren’t too hard in the beginning; then the Izana caught wind of the Goethians’ activities and declared war on them. Don’t let their insect looks fool you; those damn bugs can be brutal when they want to be, especially with their tech. Even with our best warriors and the Goethians backing us up with weapons, the Izana managed to outgun us at several terms. During one memorable demonstration of their power, the bug bastards took out several of our fighter ships, along with dozens of our soldiers. Not wanting to lose more soldiers, the Goethians decided to invest in more muscle. Thus, the Andagga were brought aboard.
It would be a stretch to say that I actually personally met the Andagga but I first became aware of them when my squad was called to the deck of the main Empire ship. There to greet us was Barbatz, a wry grin on his droopy face.
“Ah good, good, you’re all here,” croaked the old man, “I called you here to welcome the newest addition to our humble army. They’re called the Andagga; a special race of people who agreed to join our ranks. I certainly hope they’ll serve us well.”
The rest of simply grumbled, with one Wodan, Danfalf, called to Barbatz, “You called us up here to be a welcoming committee? Why couldn’t you greet them yourself, you wrinkly tube of flesh?”
Barbatz kept that grin on his face, the skin at the corners of his mouth creasing. “Come now, given that you will be fighting alongside these new warriors, it’s important that you get to know them. Boost morale and all that. Well, without further ado, I would like to present your brothers in arms in the Goethian Army.” After the little speech, Barbatos gave a signal and the Andagga were sent forth, filing into the main deck.
The first thing everyone noticed was their lack of clothing. With nothing to cover them, everything came into our view, from their hooved feet to their scars covering their bodies to the intricate horns on their head. And yes, their…personal effects were visible for everyone to see.
Naturally, my squad cringed and yelled, making their disgust for these creatures’ state of undress known and heard. Barbatz raised his arms, attempting to quiet everyone down.
“Now everyone, no need for that,” Barbatz assured, his voice taking on slightly more serious tone, “I do realize that their…sense of fashion so to speak…is a bit perturbing. Thankfully, we will be providing them with standard issue uniforms. All in the name of providing a sense of unity of course.”
The droopy Goethian turned his head towards the horned, naked people. “You can go down to the lower deck to receive your uniforms. Go on, make haste,” Barbatos said in a stern tone.
Without a word, the Andagga formed a single file and stepped out of the main deck. Interestingly, they never showed any discomfort or shame in being naked; their faces were stoic but somewhat prideful and their body language never gave a hint of indignity. If anything, you could feel a sense of sadness around them as they were ordered to get dressed.
As the Andagga filed, I whispered to the squad mate to my right, “Hey Veigol. Know anything about these Andagga fellows?”
She sighed and quietly replied, “Those are the Andagga; they come from a whole planet of weirdoes; constantly walking around butt naked and fighting over every little thing. I personally find them to be a bunch of degenerates.”
I couldn’t help but wince a bit, unable to picture walking about in the nude like that. “That is, uh, pretty strange. Not sure why the Goethians would bother trying to recruit them.”
Veigol shifted a bit, stealing a glance from the Empire’s newest addition. “Like I said, they fight over everything, and they’ve gotten rather good at it. With the squeeze being put on the Empire, no wonder they need more firepower,” said Veigol, “Although I am not looking forward to fighting alongside them.”
I took my own peek at the last Andagga leaving the main deck. If nothing else, those horn heads were interesting to be around.
My relationship with the Empire peaked a few months later, when Bael and our squadron visited the planet Krrk, home of the infamous Gorblarb. Apparently, the masses of tentacles were doing business with another group of merchants, so the Goethians decided to wedge themselves into that deal, hoping for either profits or new recruits.
While Baella was dealing with negotiations, we foot soldiers would be patrolling different areas of Krrk, looking for anything potentially valuable. I decided to scout a nearby beach, thinking I could find natural deposits of some kind. After taking a walk around the sandy dunes, I ended up just enjoying the day. Being a foot soldier was hard work after all and I could afford to slack off on a low stakes mission like this. Worst case scenario, I grabbed a few seashells and claim it as a valuable resource.
While doing my lollygagging, I couldn’t help but notice how crisp and clear the water was under the planet’s sunshine. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the waters of Disthor, harsh as they were, and seeing the ocean like this was bringing up admittedly overly sentimental emotions. Since I was already shirking my duties, I figured a quick swim wouldn’t be any more harmful to my health. Problem is, I had no bathing suit on me and swimming around in my uniform wasn’t an option.
While thinking of what to do, my mind drifted back to the Andagga when they first came aboard. How they were unclothes and unashamed of themselves even though it disgusted others. I had thought them strange when I first saw them like that and yet; given my current circumstances…maybe I could take a few notes from them.
Making sure I was completely alone, I carefully slid off my boots and planted my foot to the ground, feeling the coarseness of the sand on the bare skin of my soles. It was a bit of an odd sensation but nothing harmful. Gathering a bit more courage, I unzipped my jacket and gingerly removed it, until my entire upper body was exposed. That was a bit chilly, but again, it was far from unpleasant.
With just my pants left, I faltered a bit. “Come on Narragg,” I told myself, “You’ve come this far already. If those horn heads didn’t have a problem with it, why should you?” After pumping myself up for a few more moments, I threw caution to the wind and practically tore the pants from my body.
Just like that, I was standing on the beach, completely nude. It felt…liberating, like nothing was restricting me. On my flesh, I felt the sun shining down on and the wind passing its breeze over me; it was rush of sensations.
Feeling a bit more exhilarated, I stepped forward, ready to jump into the ocean when I heard a female voice cry out, “What are you doing man!?”
I stopped and turned, my blood frozen. Just a few feet from me were Veigol, Danfalf…and Baella.
“We’re here on a mission Narragg! Instead, you decided to go skinny dipping?” cried out Veigol.
“If you wanted to get your pants off, take it to a brothel, you sick freak!” yelled Danfalf, not being any more supportive.
Baella was quiet, a remorseful look on his face. He took a few steps towards me, while I was too paralyzed with fear to move or speak.
Once he was nearly eye level with me, Baella spoke in a soft yet disappointed tone, “Oh Private Narragg. Why did you feel there was a need to do this?”
“I…I’m sorry sir!” I blurted out, fearing for my life, “I was looking for some resources…it was just so hot and-”
Baella raised a clawed hand to silence me and continued speaking in that same fatherly tone, “It was bad enough you got distracted on such a simple mission. But to cavort about in the flesh like you were an animal? Private, we may come from different species but rest assured I do not think of you as an animal. The bare minimum that I ask of my men is to show some decorum.”
Suddenly I felt a sharp nail pierce my exposed chest, drawing blood. I cried out in pain as Baella bared his teeth at me, his tone never changing, “After our army worked so hard at taming and rehabilitating those savages with the hooves, you can see how tiring it is to see your own men devolve right before your very eyes. We are supposed to be civilized dear private.”
He dug his claw deeper into my flesh, twisting his finger inside to draw more blood. I could only scream in agony, tears running down my face as I tried to grit my teeth through the experience.
After minutes that felt like hours, Baella finally unhooked himself from my skin, his finger coated in my blood. Clutching my chest, I fell to my knees, the pain still radiating through my body.
Towering over me, Baella spoke his final words to me, his voice now taking on a chilling new tone. “If you get dressed and return to the ship, you’ll receive no worse than a strike private. But if you insist on staying naked, stay here with the rest of the animals. I’ll be happy to tell everyone you died and leave it at that.”
Baella then sauntered off, with my squad mates giving disgusted looks at me before following Baella. Still on my knees, the feeling of pain was replaced with rage. Suddenly, laid out right there before me, I had to make a choice; do I live my life clothes free, or do I live my life with clothes?
Now I can’t tell you whether my final decision was based on the anger towards Bael or to relive that sensation that was robbed from me, but I can tell what my next action was. Standing on wobbly knees, I got up and walked away from the beach. I didn’t even attempt to grab my uniform; the crumpled clothes in the sand would serve as my informal resignation from the army.
That was nearly a year ago; today I still reside on the planet Krrk and still live as clothes free as possible. For all intents and purposes, I was most likely declared legally dead and with no ship, I had to set up a home amongst the Gorblarb; not that I wanted to go back. It helped that the Gorblarb were a welcoming species and allowed me to stay with them, provided I caused them no trouble. I am grateful for their hospitality, but I do find it disappointing conversations for them are different than the norm. Because oh boy do I have some stories to tell!