They Promised Us Gold

By Maureen Llomond

When the government institutes a stimulus plan in which minors are allowed to get a fast track on their military careers, three boys join up, along with thousands of others. Follow their adventures as they battle through simulations and an ever growing uneasiness that the plan may hold secrets none of them dreamed about.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Maureen Llomond
• Release date: Aug 21, 2013

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4:56 pm

April 18, 2010

Tribunal Court Room

Somewhere in South Carolina

Sergeant Samson Philips of the International Justice System Childs Soldier Division. the plaintiff of the court called out. "You have been charged with the following misdemeanors by your superiors;

"Insubordination, sixty nine counts. Curfew breakage, unknown count. Fraternizing with female officers on duty, two-hundred and thirty-nine counts. Disobedience of direct orders on the field, six counts. Preemptive assaults on neutral parities, four counts. Failure to submit completed mission reports in a timely manner, twenty-eight counts. Mistreatment and abuse of prisoners, eighteen counts. Misappropriation of I.J.S.-C.S.D. resources, forty counts. Use of lethal force in a civilian area, ten counts. Discharging a weapon with lethal intent in the barracks, four counts. Smuggling restricted items onto base, three counts. Public slander and libel of I.J.S.-C.S.D. officers and systems on base, barracks, mission, and civilian areas.

These are the counts of offenses, how does the defendant plead?

The court room looked toward the young man sitting in the defendant's position. The boy, still in his field uniform, sat with his arms crossed over his muscled chest.

The boy had obviously been in the military branch for several years, his ash blonde hair was crew cut and tanned in the areas that it had been exposed to the sun. His muscles, though adolescent, were toned and strong, the muscles of a fighter. His feet were propped up on the desk in front of the defendants area. He stared at the plaintiff with his blue eyes, eyes that he was constantly reading, constantly looking.

Sergeant Philips? the plaintiff pushed.

Samson took his boots off of the desk and stood up.

I plead guilty.

7:57 pm

March 14, 2010

IJS Hospital

Somewhere in New York City, New York

First Lieutenant Parker Moravis sat in the waiting room of the hospital, rubbing his large hands together. Who knew, maybe Egan's injuries weren't as bad as they had looked on the footage. Blood always makes things look worse than they are.

Egan had been shot twice in the shoulder and once the leg, Parker had seen it himself, his best friend gunned down by an enraged terrorist.  He wondered if Egan's parents had been contacted yet, if the rest of the people they had listed as emergency contacts would be contacted soon. If Leo would show up, if she wasn't busy at college or with her new projects.

Parker! a shout came from behind him. It was Leo, followed by Egan’s parents.

Leo! Parker stood and scooped her into a brotherly hug. He was still