How Mort became a Prison Guard

How Mort became a Prison Guard

Sergeant Mortichi Griffin headed up the security detail that accompanied Dane Creedor Kratz whenever he ventured away from the Compound. Mr. Kratz was the chief of Psychic Operations for the Empire and spent much of his time traveling about. The Detail consisted of a ten man squad that was a part of a larger Counter Espionage Unit, involved in tracking, fixing and destroying Confederation patrols. Mortichi was an experienced combat leader who because of his size was referred to as Big Mort.

Creedor was fond of Sergeant Griffin and often referred to him as “The Real Deal.” By this he meant that Mort was the ideal solder, and someone in whom he had implicit trust. For his part the Sergeant was equally devoted to Dane Kratz and took his job as Special Security Assistant very seriously. You might say they shared a mutual admiration society.

In the course of his duties Creedor traveled throughout the Realm. On one of his trips he was called upon to investigate the assassination of the Magistrate of Corinth. He spent several weeks interviewing witnesses before figuring out exactly what had happened. Since the ending of the war an uneasy truce had existed between the Empire and the Free Territories. The peace was always being tested and both sides worked tirelessly to stay abreast of what the other was doing. These tests often took the form of skirmishes, espionage and assassinations.

The term “Skirmish” was used to describe everything from chance meetings between the hostile forces, to struggles over controlling Key Terrain such as the corridor into Myrocenia. Mycorcenia sat astride a strategic avenue of approach into Tristan City and served as a forward operating base for the Empire. Kratz had been stationed there early in his career and set up the Simian Overlook which was involved in psychic listening. Fortunately he was in Corinth when fortress was taken unexpectedly the Confederation.

“Espionage,” referred to the stealing of defense secrets and on occasion critical war materials. Kratz had been in charge of the theft of over a hundred pounds of Coofer Sthal from the arsenal in Tristan City. This stunning accomplishment launched his career and put him on a fast track to ever increasing positions of power and responsibility. His ambitions culminated in appointment as Chief of Psychic Operations.

“Assassinations,” were carried out to eliminate threats who were a “Serious Endangerment" to the Empire. Creedor had written the book on how these operations were conducted. In the past year, three of the six Simian Elves taken at Myrocenia had been neutralized or quietly eliminated. The problem was that the Confederation had picked up on the tactic and became extremely adept at using it. In the past year they had become the acknowledged masters of this unconventional use of lethal force.

The Modus Operand they used was to attach a team of assassins to a Reconnaissance Patrol, which would guide them into the target area. Once the hit was accomplished the patrol would return the assassins across the border. To counter this tactic Kratz established psychic listening posts, monitored enemy transmissions and become very proficient in neutralizing their effectiveness.

Several months earlier they had fixed an enemy patrol and would have destroyed it had fate not taken an untimely turn at the worst possible time. They were detected prematurely and in the firefight that ensued a Beacon almost Killed Dane Karaz. Beacons were prepubescent female elves with powerful psychic abilities. Mort saved his life by stepping in front and taking the brunt of the mental fireball. It caught him full in the face and ended a promising career. A part of his usable mind was badly burned and at first the prognosis for his survival was questionable. Remarkably he not only lived but recovered some of his awareness, enough to perform basic duties. Still he remained a shell of his former self. Despite his severe injury he continued to recover until able to do many of the things he needed to cope. Now however, while he appeared increasingly normal, his actions seemed to be orchestrated at a subconscious level of his brain. In other words he always seemed to do the right thing but couldn’t explain the rationale why.