Eric S. Nylund - The Warlords of Recess

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The Warlords of Recess 2013 by Eric Nylund

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EPub Edition AUGUST 2013 ISBN: 9780062289728

FIRST EDITION

C ommander Kane looked from the bridge of his mighty warship, Colossus .

The central view screen showed a blue planet swirled with clouds. A world called Earth. Its defenses would only take a minute to annihilate. Then it would be known as colony world 4729-B.

Commander Kane smoothed his neat iron-gray beard, brushed imaginary lint from the sleeve of his black uniform, and adjusted the campaign ribbons making a rainbow over his chest.

He nodded to his weapons crew to begin.

Ten junior officers straightened at their stations. Their eager faces were lit from the nearby computers that showed missiles armed and a fleet of invasion craft ready to launch.

Rule Officer Lieutenant Plagen cleared his throat.

Commander Kane grimaced. This happened every single time. He held up a hand to signal the weapon officers to halt.

Lieutenant Plagen wore a white uniform with gold buttons that should have made him stand out among the rest of the crew. Yet he had the uncanny ability to sneak up on the commander.

Yes, Lieutenant Plagen? Commander Kane asked.

Sir. Plagen snapped a crisp salute. Rule 039? Im sure you meant to give the order. He arched one eyebrow, knowing very well the commander hadnt. It is my duty to remind the commander that The Test must be given to any world about to be conquered by the Eternal Empire.

Rule 039, Commander Kane muttered. Of course.

The Empire spanned the galaxy. It ruled four hundred colony worlds and would last forever because of its rulesall 33,452 of them.

The Commander secretly thought most of those rules could be ignored and no one would notice.

Except , that is, the Rules Officer required to go on every mission.

Which was another rule.

Commander Kane exhaled. He turned to his intelligence officer.

She anticipated his order, leaned over her instruments, and scanned the planet Earth.

Detecting several military bases, sir, she told him.

A smug smile appeared on Plagens face.

Of course the Rules Officer was happy. He enjoyed these pointless, cruel tests.

Very well, Commander Kane told his intel officer. Find an easy target. I want to make this quick. No need to make these earthlings suffer more than they must.

She nodded. Filtering the results, sir.

Rule 039 was ancientfrom before the Empire had traveled to the stars. It was from a time when they had respected their enemies. Honor and courage had meant more than pushing a button and bombing planets from orbit without fear of a real fight.

The rule tested their enemies.

The Empire sent three squads against a like number of enemy soldiers. If the enemy won these battles, then they were worthy of the Empires respect. They would be called friend, and the Empire would leave in peace.

It was a worthless exercise. Not since the Empire had taken to the stars had anyone ever won a Rule 039 test.

Found a likely candidate, the intel officer said, looking up from her scanners. A training camp for young warriors. They are currently engaged in simulated battle drills. Something called recess.

That sounds perfect, Rules Officer Plagen said. What is the name of this place for the official record?

Evergreen Elementary School, the intel officer replied.

Proceed then, Commander Kane ordered. Send in Squad Alpha.

Sir? Alpha? the intel officer asked.

Alpha squad had the ships best soldiers. They won every fight, no matter what it cost. They were also known for leaving few, if any, survivors on the battlefield.

Nothing fancy, Commander Kane said. Just take them out. Quick.

Josh and Tony sat on the sidelines of Evergreen Elementarys basketball court. It was a hot spring day. The smell of cut grass was thick in the air.

The boys wouldve given anything to be out there running, dribbling, and having a great time.

No. That wasnt true.

They knew they were better off sitting out the game.

They wished they could run and pass and have a great time at basketball like everyone else.

But Josh and Tony were total klutzes.

Their classmates thundered past them and left them coughing in a cloud of dust.

So basketball wasnt their game (neither was dodgeball or soccer). No big deal. Instead, Josh and Tony were great at chess and board games with tiny squads of men that captured military bases in historical battles. No one else in the entire school could beat them.

Instead of everyone thinking this was cool, though, it just got them picked last every time, for every sport.

And they never got put into play anymore. That was fine with them. The few times itd happened theyd gotten bruised and scuffed and spent more time flat on their faces.

It was humiliating.

So was sitting here. They were on display as the least athletic kids in the sixth grade.

Josh scratched a # in the dirt with his filthy sneaker. Tic-tac-toe?

Tony pushed his glasses higher onto his nose. He sweated and his glasses were always slipping and covered with greasy fingerprints.

Whats the point? Tony said. We always tie. How about chess?

Takes too long to find rocks to make the pieces, Josh said.

Josh knew Tony was about to suggest they draw the pieces in the dirt, then erase them and redraw every time they made a move. Last time they tried that the other kids called a timeout, came over, and trampled what had been one of their best chess games ever.

Lets just

Tony stared past Josh, ignoring him, eyes locked on the court.

Josh followed his gaze.

The game had stopped. Both basketball teams faced some new kids.

There were five newcomers.

Josh had never seen them before. He was sure. He would have remembered these kids.

The three guys and two girls were a foot taller than any other kid at Evergreen. They looked like bodybuilders, in shorts and tight T-shirts with ALPHA stenciled on them along with numbers, one through five. They all wore mirrored wraparound sunglasses.

Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, Tony said.

Whatever, Josh told him, annoyed because he hadnt known that. Tony was always showing off.

The new kids mustve said something funny, because all ten ordinary kids on the court laughed.

The biggest new kid (one with a crooked nose that looked like itd been broken a few times) looked deadly serious as he continued to talk to them. He had the number 1 on his shirt. He picked up the basketball.