The Other War
Posted in feebility
The silence was deceptively deafening. As the soldiers of all three warring armies stared out into the battlefield, they felt the tension weighing down on them like guilt.
“Remember our battle plan. Let the Paperians begin their assault on the Sciss. Hold your positions!” bellowed the Rockthum commander Drega. He was atop a standard Rockthum military-issued H.O.G., which was a mechanized mutant wild boar with plasma fangs capable of ripping flesh from bone. Only the commander of the Rockthum Army was capable of controlling this mechanical monstrosity; all the other soldiers fought on foot.
They have been fighting a war that has been going on for as long as any of them could remember. No clear victor has been determined in the war’s ten thousand year history.
“This is for Yasora”, spoke the Paperian battalion commander Hu. Yasora was the battalion’s previous commander, who was recently killed in battle by a Sciss warrior. She had led the Paperian battalion through thousands of battles, but old age caught up with her and her defenses weakened. Paperians usually shed their immensely strong hides for the last time after their fourth shedding, by which time they would have lived an average of 150 years. Hu was on a mission of vengeance against the Sciss, despite the fact that no Paperian has ever successfully killed a Sciss.
The Sciss are a barbaric yet highly intelligent race. They believed that they are the living, breathing manifestations of Existence itself, and that the Rockthum and the Paperians were merely anomalies. They never spoke, despite having the ability to do so. Instead, the Sciss communicated telepathically, with the Sciss Mind issuing commands to the Sciss Horde in singularity. The Sciss have never considered the Paperians a threat, but they have yet to gain victory over the Rockthum Army.
The battle commences. Hundreds of Paperians immediately fell against the Sciss Horde, while the Rockthum held their ground. Their seemingly impenetrable defensive alignment is soon broken when a legion of Paperians infiltrated their right flank; the Rockthum Army simply had no chance. The Paperians continued their onslaught as every Rockthum soldier fell. “That’s it men! To victory!” roared Hu, as more Paperian soldiers entered the fray.
The Sciss Mind took this opportunity to mount an attack against the Rockthum. However, Drega spearheaded one final defensive ploy that once again thwarted the Sciss Horde, bravely sacrificing himself and his H.O.G. in the process. As thousands of Rockthum soldiers fell, a thousand more took up arms and desperately continued to fight, despite losing Drega.
The battle seemed to rage on endlessly, until finally the Rockthum Army falls and succumbs to the Paperians, as the Sciss watch silently from a distance.
In the real world, Charlie drew paper and won.
