Skrull Thor Part II
War.
It was something Thor was intimately familiar with.
Odin had not been a loving father to any of his children, though Freyja had always been the kind hand that offered them love and affection. An odd, yet suitable pairing that had enabled all of Odin's children to excel into the beings they became. All of them trained for the sole purpose of war and battle, to be stronger and smarter than all others.
United together the children of Odin had been almost unstoppable.
It had taken the greatest and strongest beings of the Nine Realms to come together in order to stop them. Even then, it was at the price of their lives as well, neither side emerging victorious at the end of that bloody conflict.
Awakening once more, amongst the green-skinned creatures that Thor had only heard about in passing. The Skrulls was certainly a strange experience, but the words of the haunting beauty he saw before dying still remained fresh in his mind. His people, unknown to him were suffering and it was up to him to save them. He did not know who, how or why they were suffering, but Thor had been raised to complete only one duty.
Serve and protect the people of Asgard.
That was something Odin had imparted upon all his children and it was a duty that Thor would always follow. He had seen the innocent men, women and children that wandered through the city. Under the cover of Loki's magic, the two had walked the streets many a time, enjoying the life within it without being noticed.
Yet how he was meant to save the people of Asgard was unknown to him. If they were suffering, that meant that Odin was unable to stop them and beyond that, it meant someone smarter or stronger than his father, possibly both was behind it all.
Perhaps it was only at the absolute peak of his power during his clash against Jörmungandr that Thor had surpassed his father, but that was something he could not say for certain. As he was now though, Thor was too weak and he still had a long way to go before he could save them. Luckily for him, the Skrulls he found himself amongst seemed to believe him blessed by their Gods, Sl'gur't and Kly'bn and so was being gifted with special attention and training.
Hardly a strange thing for him, nor very difficult either despite what the Skrulls believed. The training he had undergone with his brothers was far harder than anything they threw at him. It was pathetic to see many 'blessed' Skrulls collapse and complain about how difficult the training was.
There had been hundreds at one point in time, all brought together and trained under the tutelage of K'tratz. All with the intent of creating a new breed of Skrull, an elite fighting force known as the Warskrulls.
Thor hardly cared for such things, all he cared about was getting stronger to fight the unseen threat to the Asgardian's. And so he endured it all, as those around him collapsed and struggled, Thor, kept getting to his feet for more. He didn't care what people thought of him, whether they believed him to be insane or truly blessed by the Skrulls Gods.
None of that mattered to him.
It mattered little to him how people believed him and those like him to be blessed by their Gods. He didn't care that special attention was being turned to him, many amongst the Skrulls including the Warskrulls believing him to be the second coming of the Talisman. So long as they kept training him and provided the resources and facilities needed to make him just that little bit stronger it didn't matter.
"Form up!" One of their instructors called, the rest of the Warskrulls that had survived their training experience rushing into formation, Thor one of those in the front row. Up above, General K'tratz and the Emperor of the Skrulls, Dorrek stepped into view upon the balcony.
Whispers erupted amongst the Warskrulls, all looking upon the Emperor in awe, unable to believe that he was here. Dorrek simply raising a hand and they become silent instantly.
"Welcome, all of you," Dorrek spoke, voice reaching all of their ears. "I know that it has been a long and arduous journey to reach this point. But each and every one of you here has proved that you are truly blessed by the Gods. You will stand as the new shining beacon of the Skrull military, a special operations unit under the command of General K'tratz that will protect our people from all threats!"
His words were simple, yet inspiring, Thor would give him that much at least. They seemed to be working upon many gathered, but not all, him included. Not a difficult thing to understand considering many had been doing other jobs and lived different lives before being uprooted and brought here. All had families and desires that were now being denied by the Emperor's goal.
It was no wonder they weren't pleased.
Thor was equally as displeased, the last thing he needed was to rely upon these people. There had been only one person he relied upon in his life, that had been Loki. Despite their many differences, they had been raised as a pair, forced to rely upon one another by the many trails Odin put them through.
He couldn't rely upon anyone in the same way he relied upon Loki nor did he have any intention to. Thor would save his people and he could only rely upon himself to do so. For now though, he'd make use of his position and the desires others have of him in order to make himself stronger. Then, when they served no further use for him, he'd leave, just like Loki had always said.
Keep people around so long as they had use, then get rid of them to avoid being dragged down.
-X- Line Break -X-
Fire raged, smoke billowing into the sky and casting the ground in shadow. Death and destruction hung heavy over the planet. Vast cities lay in ruin, millions of bodies scattered across it all. A sight familiar to Thor, but one many around him were unused to.
A quick act of aggression by a rival race that had long since been defeated but had raised up once more due to the peaceful ways of the new Emperor Dorrek. A large fleet of Skrull warships was dispatched, upon them, the Warskrulls had been sent for their first mission.
The battle had been short and decisive.
The planetary defences including the fleet in orbit had been quickly taken care of in a single brutal manoeuvre. The debris from said battle rained down upon the planet, reaping vast amounts of destruction. Then the Skrull fleet released thousands of troop carriers and smaller ships, delivering the soldiers to the planet below.
As for the Warskrulls?
They had been dispatched to one of the most important locations, the capital city. The most heavily defended targets upon the entire planet and saw the heaviest and most brutal fighting. Even though the inexperience of many of the Warskrulls in actual combat saw them take heavy losses in the beginning. However, the torturous training they underwent earlier on enabled those still living to adapt and earn victory.
"What did you think of your first battle, H'loridi?" K'tratz asked, looking upon the young boy who had not even seen ten years, bloody and battered, yet alive and strong. He was the most impressive of all recruits, proof that Dorrek was not wrong to place all their hopes upon him.
His skill in battle, his understanding of war, all of it was unnatural for a boy his age. He excelled in combat to the point it was awe-inspiring. The limits to his potential seemed limitless and that was something K'tratz intended to cultivate. Not only for the benefit of Emperor Dorrek but also for himself. After all, he would be the one to train the new Talisman, his name forever entwined with H'loridi's journey and immortalising him.
"It was…interesting," H'loridi replied and K'tratz smiled.
"There will be many to come in the future. I am glad to see that you have not been broken by the sights and acts you have witnessed this day." He said, looking towards a handful of Warskrulls who sat curled up in a ball on the floor.
Pitiful sights, each of them.
'If only all were like this boy.' He thought, once more turning to H'loridi who seemed entirely unperturbed by the death and destruction surrounding him. 'He truly will be the future of our race. The new Talisman that shall lead us into a Golden Age not seen since the time of Nogor.'