The Enforcer barracks were old canvas tents. The canvas was constantly aired out and had faded to a light grayish green color over the years. The men who lived in the tents were Boss Neiro's Enforcers. The general-purpose tent, originally designed to hold twenty-one cots for a platoon of soldiers in the field, was now home to twenty Enforcers working for Boss Neiro. There were seven each sixteen feet by thirty-two foot tents built upon plywood and two-by-four construction foundations. Five of these tents were used as sleeping quarters while the remaining two were used as a dining facility/kitchen and an operations office where missions were planned and presented to the Enforcers.<br/><br/>Zilard Pek woke up with the sun like most mornings. He stumbled out the back door of the tent in just his pants and a T-shirt. He made his way, barefoot to the wooden outhouses to relieve himself. The sun's rays reached across the landscape warming up the sand and mountains. Zilard felt the most alive in the morning. This was the best time of day, when he was all alone. The cooler nighttime temperatures already dissipating, making way for the arid heat due in at midday. To Zilard, the midday heat never really bothered him as much as the overnight lows. Maybe it was his Shyiine bloodline. He didn't know, just that he was perfectly comfortable in the heat, even when the humans complained about needing more water.<br/><br/>As he sat on the plastic seat focused on his morning constitutional, Zilard listened to the wild dogs howling in the distance. It was uncommon for them to be out this time of the morning, no doubt they had an early morning kill, some unfortunate prey would make for the pack's breakfast. That is survival in the Voidlands. Not just for the desert wolves and Scarab Sheep who lived on the fringes, but for the bipedal creatures who resided in built up areas like Dogton.<br/><br/>Zilard didn't give it much thought. It was life. It was how things were. Predators and prey. A fight for survival.<br/><br/>He returned inside the tent and his bunk. Most of the men were still snoring. A few others were up, puttering about. No one from this tent were on the night shift. That was a different platoon. Zilard finished dressing, putting his boots and vest on. His assault vest hung from a hook on the side of the tent over his bunk. He used the assault vest on patrols and missions. It contained two one-quart canteens, a butt pack with a weapons cleaning supplies, a rag, a small tool bag, a fifty-foot length of 7mm nylon rope, a 200-foot length of 3mm nylon cord, electrical tape and a ration. In front of the vest were various ammo pouches arranged symmetrically along the waist and chest. The vest contained his standard '0000' quadruple aught 8-gauge buckshot and various flechette styled bird shot. Each cartridge contained twenty dart-sized projectiles that scattered from the muzzle when fired. It was very effective against a bunched up group of bandits at close range. It was not something one would use at distance. In fact, Zilard never considered using the Close Assault Weapon System (CAWS) at greater than a hundred meters. Other pouches contained 10-round magazines for the 11mm pistol he wore at his side. That had a holster all its own, hung low strapped to his outer right thigh.<br/><br/>He holstered his Grick sidearm after inserting a magazine, no round in the chamber. The scabbard for his Kilij Scimitar rested across his right shoulder, carried on his back. The Tanto dagger at his right hip behind the holster and finally the M90 CAWS slung low on the right side and toward the rear, safety engaged. Zilard finally put on his leather 'half-gloves'. They allowed for fingertips free to perform dexterous activities with protection for the palm and back of hands. He slipped his goggles over his head, lowered down to his throat.<br/><br/>His bed made, he wandered over to the kitchen tent to see what was happening. A few of the men were sitting around drinking the<span style="font-style: italic">sludge</span>or coffee if you will. It was palatable. For Zilard, it was all he knew and tasted just fine. He picked up a plate and scooped out the yellow substance known as scrambled eggs, a slice of toast, a sausage and a mug of sludge. He wasn't friendly with any of the morning crew, choosing a seat by himself.<br/><br/>Just as he placed the first morsel of food into his mouth, Viyr, Boss Neiro's pasty-faced machinae entered the tent. The cyborg fixed his yellow eyes on Zilard Pek and headed right for his table. Zilard was only concerned about eating his meal.<br/><br/>"Lizard," Viyr used the nickname the Boss used. "Boss Neiro has requested your presence in his office ASAP."<br/><br/>Zilard sipped the coffee, lowered his mug, and looked up at the pasty cyborg, "Did he say what it was about?"<br/><br/>Almost monotone in its free from empathetic tone, "you are to escort Mercenary Kaitar into the Voidlands. Special job. Very special." Viyr watched Zilard as he resumed drinking his coffee, eating toast. Zilard did not get up right away. "He would send me, but he<span style="font-style: italic">needs</span>me here. He and I have work to do." Unnecessary gibberish to Zilard Pek, but Boss Neiro mentioned this in the same thought. The Cyborg uttered the irrelevant information as well.<br/><br/>"Yea, yea, yea," Zilard continued to eat his breakfast. "I'll be along shortly." Zilard didn't waste too many words with the Machinae. He had every intention of eating. He continued to shovel food into his mouth, but not moving with a sense of purpose.<br/><br/>Viyr gave no appearance, or acknowledgement. He watched the half breed eat his breakfast and then registered a degree of apathy. Viyr faced about and hastily exited the tent to return to Boss Neiro.<br/><br/>'Great, I get to work with Kaitar,' Zilard thought to himself. The<span style="font-style: italic">man</span>was caustic. At least they wouldn't have to worry about noise discipline. Kaitar hardly ever said a word. Zilard was fine with that. If Zilard Pek thought hard enough, he may recall that it was Kaitar who once referred to him as<span style="font-style: italic">Kitazot</span>, the Shyiine word for outcast or<span style="font-style: italic">Kita</span>for short. Zilard didn't mind. At least he acknowledged the fact he was half Shyiine. Zilard felt like an outcast living amongst the humans and would undoubtedly be an outcast living among the Shyiine. He didn't feel welcome anywhere except in his mother's home and in the employ of Boss Neiro. The Boss kept him around for his<span style="font-style: italic">gift</span>. Neiro took advantage of Lizard on occasion, especially if an Enforcer came back from a patrol half-dead. Unbeknownst to Zilard, his mother had some relationship with the boss neither would mention.<br/><br/>When breakfast was finished, Zilard cleared his table, picked up his shotgun and Kilij Scimitar then slung them over his shoulders. He pushed his chair back in and headed to Boss Neiro's office.<br/><br/>Along the way, he passed Zres and Kligger. "Hey Zres, how's it going?" Zilard called to the young Enforcer.<br/><br/>Zres mumbled something under his breath.<br/><br/>"What was that?" Zilard called back.<br/><br/>"Fuck off, half breed!" Zres called out to Zilard.<br/><br/>Zilard chuckled as he walked by and headed into Boss Neiro's office.<br/><br/>"Lizard!" Boss Neiro yelled at the half Shiiyne half human soldier annoyed at his tardiness. "Where have you been?! When I call for you, I expect you to come right away!"<br/><br/>Zilard knew Viyr would have told the Boss about him wanting to eat his breakfast, so it wouldn't make sense to lie. "I was eating breakfast, boss."<br/><br/>Boss Neiro reluctantly consented, "Fine. Now listen up Bora-Demir. I have a job I want you to do. Take a seat."<br/><br/>A broken wooden chair against a wall was the only place to sit. Zilard looked at it quickly, having sat in it before. "No thanks, I prefer to stand."<br/><br/>"Suit yourself." Boss Neiro sat down, pulled out a cigarette and lighter. He puffed on the thin cigarette. "I hired Kaitar to check up on a caravan heading into Dogton. The caravan never made it. There are some essential items in one of the wagons. I need it here, yesterday." Neiro took a drag on the cigarette, tapped the ashes onto the floor and continued. "That useless Shyiine lost my caravan." The Boss was visibly annoyed when he spoke about the lost caravan.<br/><br/>With the use of the term<span style="font-style: italic">useless</span>, Zilard cringed slightly. After all, he was part shyiine. He never quite understood why humans held onto their weak-minded ideas, stereotypes about the Shyiines. Zilard found it disturbing whenever he heard one. Neiro was full of them and full of it.<br/><br/>Boss Neiro went on with the disappearing caravan story. "He claims a group of bandits known as the<span style="font-style: italic">Az'bedar</span>attacked the convoy and took everything into the Voildlands. Az'bedar is a Shyiine group who use the symbol of the Scorpion to mark their territory." Neiro took another drag on his cigarette and tapped the ashes upon the floor. "You've heard of them?"<br/><br/>Zilard nodded grimly.<br/><br/>"Kaitar wasn't too pleased either." Neiro recognized Zilard's expression but needed him to go either way. "Suck it up, Lizard. You are going to find that caravan with or without the mercenary's help. I would prefer he go with you, but in the event he declines my rather persuasive offer, I may give you the side mission of<span style="font-style: italic">taking out the garbage</span>if you get my hint."<br/><br/>'Wow! This jackass is incredible.' Zilard thought to himself. 'How many years has he employed Kaitar? I don't blame the Mercenary for not wanting to go into the Shy'war-Anquai. That is the worst place ever. No one but true Shyiine warriors go there. That is a death knell for any of us. Whatever is in that caravan must be pretty damn important.'<br/><br/>"What's in that caravan? Your dead father?" Zilard blurted out, lacking empathy.<br/><br/>"Why I oughtta!" Boss Neiro rose up out of his chair as if he was about to hit Zilard Pek. He quickly regained his composure and took his seat. "What is it with you maggots claiming my dead parents are in some God damned caravan!?"<br/><br/>"Any way, you are going to retrieve that caravan. Kill the bandits and bring my people back to me. You got it!?"<br/><br/>"Yea, I got it. Can I take Rooster and Zres with me?" Zilard asked.<br/><br/>"Leave Zres alone. You can take Rooster and Whitey."<br/><br/>"Ok, Boss," Zilard was placid about the job itself. His calmness over the job was more about his companion than the actual mission. He was not concerned about dying. He believed the Shyiine mercenary knew how to survive in the desert. He was looking forward to learning as much as he could from Kaitar. He grew up around humans and he finally had an opportunity to spend some time with a true Shyiine. He was filled with a small amount of excitement because studying the Shyiine was one of his favorite pastimes, but that excitement was tempered by his knowledge of Kaitar's personality. Zilard believed that they could get past that. He believed that by merely observing the Shyiine, he could learn a great deal. Besides, they would just carry extra water.<br/><br/>Boss Neiro looked at Zilard. "So, how much you take from Zres last night?"<br/><br/>"Twenty," the Enforcer responded. Zilard enjoys a nightly game of poker with a few of the others. Last night was a good night for Mr. Pek.<br/><br/>"He must be pissed," Boss Neiro smiled.<br/><br/>"He told me to fuck off this morning," Zilard smiled while telling the boss. "So what time are we leaving?" Zilard asked.