Jack donned the feminine robe, signifying his new rank and role as Commander. Although, at this point most of the conflict had been resolved: the three female explorers had been freed of the high-tech prison, a sideways, rotating cylindrical affair set in the mountainside, and their liberation had simultaneously revealed a chamber behind the cylinder wherein the petrified bodies of past victims resided. And now, Jack had been given his new rank. He decided to put it to some use, however small.
"Okay, everyone, listen! We are going to remove these bodies. Lay them out in a line out there in the prairie. We'll have an archaeologist examine them, then give them a proper burial."
The people around him, those under his command, began the process of moving the bodies. Jack took off his robe so it wouldn't get dirty.
The bodies were so ancient that they were more rocks than biological remains. Each body was set in a stone frame, making their removal simple. Jack lifted one and carried it down the mountainside and onto the grassy plains. A dark but brilliant sky rained down warm, orange light.
He returned with a second body and noticed, to his annoyance, that people were not stacking the bodies in a line as he had instructed. Instead they were piled up in between bits of colorful sheets. Not a big deal, it could probably be sorted out later. He returned to the chamber and, noticing that the last body had been removed, once more put on his commander robe.
He turned around and gazed down from the mountainside. It was crawling with the people under his command, going about their affairs, preparing for the journey. Their activity spilled down into the vast plains beyond, but not so far as to touch any of the mountains that bordered the circular section of grassland.
He looked down a few yards from where he was standing and saw that a section of earth had been disturbed. It was dotted with grass and tiny little colored flowers resembling feet. They twisted and bounced playfully in the gentle breeze. Jack's anger rose. His people had not waited to bury the bodies, they had gone on without his instructions! Time to assert his authority.
"WHAT IS THIS I SEE? Are these the bodies? Lying in the ground?!" He raised his voice to its highest volume, and was somewhat surprised to hear it echo down the mountainside, raising heads as it went. "Am I not your commander? And was it not I who instructed you to lay the bodies in a line, so that they might be examined by an archaeologist?!"
At this point activity had ceased and all eyes were on him. "And now, I see that the bodies have been buried, contrary to my instructions. Who was it that told you thus? It was certainly not I, the only one to give such a command!! NOW, LISTEN CAREFULLY! You will dig up these bodies, lay them down in a line, and an ARCHAEOLOGIST WILL EXAMINE THEM! After that, we will bury them once more. Now go!"
The people nodded and began their work. Jack looked on, satisfied. He wasn't to be an unfair commander, and yes, he was perhaps slightly unqualified, but for such a simple matter as this he would tolerate no disobedience. He certainly wouldn't be a wimp.
Jack looked on until he saw the work had begun, then strode off down the mountain, his robes blowing behind him, to look for the archaeologist in their large group. Once he reached the plains, a person stopped him.
"Hey, that was great," he said to Jack. "You could hear your voice everywhere. It was a little scary," he smiled shyly.
"Oh, good," replied Jack. "Have you seen the archaeologist?"
"No."
Jack strode on, satisfied with himself. Soon, he would fail spectacularly in his next big test, a full-on naval battle with himself in command of a submarine crewed by veterans. That defeat would be the end of his short tenure as commander. But right now, he continued roaming the plains, looking for the archaeologist.
