"Fucking Hapans."

Xander Griff almost spat the words out as he stepped onto the Relephon soil from the Bird of Prey Avatar of Tomed.

His aide, and right hand man, Commander Nilus, smirked ever so slightly, "Do I detect a little bit of ill will toward our new partners, Director?"

"Damn right you do. I hate this shit, I really do. All this backstabbing and political mangling. Can they, for once just engage in a straight fight?"

"Is that a question you want answered?" Nilus asked.

"Fuck you."



***


"This is it?"

Griff walked down the line of the supposedly hardened Relephon soldiers. They were standing stock straight in a line that stretched forever. All were officers, and all had been carefully chosen to be the leaders of the new Relephon army Griff had been tasked with building. His Union bosses had decided he was the best man for the job, but it was hardly a position he relished.

hHe preferred to be in space, in the comfort of his Bird, surrounded by the competant soldiers he ahd helped train and lead. His Black Hand soldiers and agents were still feared throughout the galaxy. They were the last remnants of the Sovereignty, and Griff was proud to be their leader.

But the men standing before him, all immaculately well-kept and attractive, were hardly his idea of commanders of an army. They were disgustingly pretty.

Time to change that.

"You have been called here because you were told you were to be the future of the Relephon army. Well I am here to tell you that whoever told you that is a fucking moron. I am the future of the Relephon army, and through me, maybe you shall be as well."

He continued walking down the line at a leiseurely pace, and he could tell that all attention was on him, even though the she-males before him were staring straight ahead like good soldiers at attention.

"But I will make one concession right now, and this time only. Whomever feels that he is good enough to train and or lead this army instead of me, step forward, you have this one chance, and one chance only to claim this title. Because it will not be offered in this manner ever again as long as I stand before you."

There were no takers...

At first.

The man who stepped forward turned with military precision and strode toward the Director at an equally leisurely pace. Griff narrowed his eyes, but silently thanked the stars that one of these pussies had decided to challenge him.

Perfectly useful as an example.

"I challenge you." The she-man said.

Griff smiled, and stepped up to the man, njose to nose.

And then screamed at him with all of his fury, "Did I ask you to speak, fucker!?"

The Hapan looked stricken, and all of his manly demanor fell apart instantly. Griff delivered a well-aimed punch to the throat, sending the large Hapan to the ground, gagging. He was instantly dragged off by two Black hand agents standing nearby.

"If you remember one thing: know this...


"I am your only way to advancement. And you will get nowhere through challenge. You will get no where through flattery. If one of you maggots even look at me in a way I find displeasing, you will be wishing for that fool's fate. Do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes sir!"


So it begins.

He stood in complete silence, though the clenching of his jaw indicated the slightest hint of his distaste for the interlopers that spat insults at the honorable Hapan army of Relephon. This was the Pride of the Relephon Moons; his pride. His men showed little fear or care for the man that had challenged Griff's leadership, and remained at perfect attention.

Sevaedus stood infront of the men on an equal level to this Xander character, a man he was slowly but surely beginning to either deeply hate, or deeply respect. For years, Sevaedus had been the Lord Protector of the Relephon Moons, a title graced by the Crown Prince of Relephon himself, Prince Lucian D'alaetos. During those years, he had turned the Hapan men into a well formed and well ordered military force. Of course it was nothing like the battle-hardened armies of the Coalition or the Infamous brigades of Stormtroopers that the Empire utilized, but it was an army none-the-less.

Smoothing a wrinkle out of his blue and white formal uniform, Sevaedus reaffirmed his stern gaze as the two Black Hand operatives carried the man who had dared to challenge Xander away to the brig. His hair slicked back into a graceful design, and his solid build made him stand out amongst the weaker looking Hapans in line before him.

"This is Director Xander Griff, of the Black Hand." Sevaedus started as Griff took up a position infront of the line. "He has been appointed by your Crown Prince to ensure that you survive the difficult times that lay ahead of us all. Trust him, and he will lead you to victory.... look upon him with fear, and you will be dishonoring the pledge you made to our Prince. Your loyalty as Hapans is unquestioned. Obey Director Griff, and you will survive the tasks that lay ahead of you. Disobey him, and you will perish."

It was raining on Relephon...



"Down.... up..... down... up..."


Xander Griff walked slowly down the lines of sweating, and dirty Hapans. They had been out in the mud for days now, constantly training, with it never seeming to end.

Griff had been running these coddled Hapans into the ground, and he definately felt he was begining to have an effect. They were sharper, faster, and could react with much more speed than they had a few days before.

But they had little idea the training had only just begun.

The Union payed Griff a substantial payroll, and their funding of the Black Hand was more than enough incentive for him to get the job done. And he certianly had a long way to go.

"Halt." He said.

The command was repeated down the line, until the hundred or so trainees laying before him, in the mud, on their faces, stopped. They looked utterly exhausted, and Griff couldn't help but feel pleased.

Nevertheless, they needed to be reminded what they were here for.

"Just what... the fuck is this?" He asked.

He bent down and looked right into the eyes of one of the filthy-looking Hapan,"What the fuck are you doing!?"

The man didn't seem to know how to answer. His eyes darted from one side to the other, and he began to look for others to help him. But Griff's eyes bored into his, "I asked you a question, trainee. Do not look at me as if I am stupid!"

Griff stood to his feet, "Everyone up. NOW!"

In an instant, they all stood before him in a perfect row, "I don't know where you guys are right now, but I thought we were in the middle of physical training Am I not correct?"

"Yes sir!"

"Then why the fuck are you pussies wasting my fucking time?"

Silence.

"Since that is what you seem you like doing, someone is going to have to pay for all of your mistakes!"

One of the Hapan trainees suddenly stepped forward. He said nothing, but Griff pounced on him instantly, "And just what the fuck is your name, beautiful?"

"Mako of the House of Thrace, sir."

"And what do you have to say for yourself?"

"I would wish that whatever punishment you have, to allow me to bear it."

Griff actually smiled. It took a few days, but it finally happened.

"Very well. You are no promoted to Trainee Commander. They answer to you, and you to me. Enjoy."

"Sir yes sir!"