Infiltrators and snipers were called Ovis. Aerial units were Raptors. Tank units were Tyrants. Lastly, a general ground unit was a Saurian. That's how the ranks went for the clone army, during the raging war on planet Velkhar- An event forgotten with time. Unit #2973 was his name, he recalls. Dumped into a wormhole, like so many others, for being useless, defect, beyond repair or some other ridiculous reasoning. He'd broken a leg. It was enough to be disposed of, to be replaced by a new unit. The clone remembers it leaving a bitter taste in his mouth, the moment he awoke in pain, and was looked over by various concerned creatures. All of them came in different size, shape and colour. All of them had strange, soft-textured body covering on. And none of them spoke his language.

A broken leg, however, was enough to communicate that he needed help. Patched and given some kind of device, he could finally understand what the strangers around him were saying.

"A translator, free of charge", said the nurse that tended to him. Then, she prompted to ask for his name.

He didn't have one.

Blurting out his number felt odd.

The nurse mumbled something that sounded like "take your time".

It felt like eons went by as he stared off into the distance, taking in his surroundings. It seemed safe and sound. His leg was taken care of, he'd been cleaned up and he seemed to be in a generic care facility. The clone settled on Saurus.

"Well, Saurus, welcome to the Noithuso Galaxy. Your kind is extremely rare here, so be safe in your travels."

That set off many alarms at once. They were familiar with what he was? Almost immediately, Saurus asked for directions on where to go next. Especially informative sources such as a library, or authority that could guide him. The clone was pointed to a place that lay a few blocks away. The moment he left the hospital, he was hit with smells of oil, dirt and sweat. Yet.. It felt refreshing. Away from the bloodshed, the screaming, the struggling- His comrades, whom he felt nothing for as they were all disposable like him- The enemy, who shone like beacons in the sun with their metal surfaces. It was all gone, and that was the first breath of relief Saurus let go.

It didn't take long for Saurus to realise that the station he'd crashed into, was one for refugees. What for, he didn't know exactly. Words of fought territories, homelessness, wars- It went one ear in and out the other. The majority didn't know what Saurus was, nor had they seen one with such.. Straight, composed and boring anatomy, is what they called it. Only the head librarian knew vaguely of what Saurus was. The clone was told, several others of his kind had been seen here before over the last few years. Most of them had succumbed to death, however. Whether that came with the shock of wormhole travel, or simply being too injured, was never investigated.

"You're a lucky one," the strange alien waved him off, "don't die out there."

— RISE TO FAME —

Over the next few years, Saurus spent huddling together with the other refugees. With nothing to his name, he had to resort to begging, taking scraps and donations- He was sleeping on a poorly-made mattress, eating canned beans and sitting in one spot for too long. But it mattered not to him. The clone would take it, as he wasn't fearful for his life anymore. Occasionally, there were simple jobs available for the refugees, and Saurus would jump at every opportunity to earn each single penny. Each one would bring him closer to something more comfortable. With the savings he'd made, Saurus was eventually able to get his armour set revamped for more modern purposes. Besides, it was all he could pay for. He'd have needed to pay a master smith at least five times the amount, for armour fitted to his.. Boring yet rare anatomy.

Then, one day, a campaign was running. Some civilisation of sector R-7301 needed help fending off invaders. Any help from anyone was welcome. Saurus was the first to stand up from the refugees, with some others reluctantly following him. It meant a way off this station, and while Saurus had good moments with his fellow refugees, he needed excitement in his life. And where else to get excitement, by helping protect someone's territory against bounty hunters and space pirates? Obviously, the invaders were in the wrong here, and Saurus wanted to give them a bitter taste of their own medicine.

And so he went. With some fellow refugees, and other strange-looking candidates, into a spaceship, off into the darkness of the universe. All aliens in this galaxy seemed to have more extreme proportions and features, compared to him. A few seats away, sat a creature completely packed tightly into a suit, as to not let his 'toxic bodily gases' escape into the air. Next to him, was a statue of a beast, covered in a million hairs and spikes.. Whilst antsily keeping an eye on his watch the entire time. Saurus thought the species were already varied enough on the station he'd spent years at, but it was only the tip of the iceberg, he'd soon learn.

Sector R-7301 proved rough. Once a thriving empire, Ijero was now reduced to the smallest it'd ever been, thanks to individual mercenary groups all over the place teaming up together. Why they wanted to overthrow the rulership? It had to do with valuable materials and profit. It didn't surprise Saurus one bit. While the army itself and newest recruits were made of all shapes and sizes, Saurus still felt out of place. It wasn't exactly news here that Saurus was of some clone race, and it was all the more reason for the higher-ups to talk down to him the most. Out of everyone, Saurus had definitely gotten the short stick. He was the most outsider an outsider could get, and he didn't hear the end of it for the time to come.

Until he'd prove himself. Luckily for Saurus, his previous experience gave him the upper hand during training, eventually becoming the first to join the official ranks soon enough. Seems the ol' clone wars were good for something, after all. It took roughly 5 years to drive back all the mercenary groups, and claim back the territories that were once lost. Throughout this time, new recruits still came in from time to time, and old ones retired or passed. It always felt fleeting, with no one staying as long as Saurus had. The only exceptions were skilled fighters as he was, or the higher-ups.

With their goal reached, Saurus thought it would be done. It wasn't. Saurus was made an offer by emperor Hudot- Stay within the army, become one of its generals, and fight for the empire when needed. It seemed a good cause. It had reason. And the emperor wasn't doing any fucked up shit like making thousands of clones. And he'd always been treated as an individual here, save for the occasional moron or two. And it was incredibly well paid. Least to say, Saurus accepted. Since then, it was General Saurus, one of the army's prides and joys.

— ALL DOWNHILL FROM HERE —

It took approximately another 5 years for emperor Hudot to succumb to some illness. The next in line was his arrogant son Kazimir, and once he was crowned, everyone and Saurus included had a bad feeling about it. What once was a relatively peaceful position spent with his comrades, would soon turn into a hell that felt all too familiar to the general. Emperor Kairn was hungry for territory, and so he commanded the armies to take over, to expand, to burn whoever was in the way of his goal. Banterful patrols and warning off trespassers, turned into piles of corpses and many sleepless nights.

After a few months, general Saurus eventually settled into the way of things. He witnessed many of his old comrades leave. It was all too tempting for Saurus to hit the nail and resign too, but he couldn't. Emperor Kairn was ruthless when it came to treating anyone less than him, especially when it came to outsiders. It was even worse for any new recruits that still came in. Everyone was reduced to nothing but their species- Saurus was only referred to as 'clone'. It awakened an anger in Saurus to lash out, but with his position the general had to control it and redirect it elsewhere. He turned it into looking out for his fellow comrades, recruits, aliens and outsiders.

It surprised the general when one of the recent recruits was a humanoid-looking figure much like himself. The recruit's name was Spudnik, and he seemed way too shaky and nervous to be signing up for an army's cause. Nonetheless, Saurus sighed and took him into the training programs. It wouldn't take long for the general to pick up that the recruit was deadly afraid of him, and he had no idea why. Once, he'd asked if they knew one another. It's as if Spudnik then waved the sweat off his head, nervously laughed and said they weren't familiar whatsoever in a million years. General Saurus raised an eyebrow but wouldn't inquire further about it for now.

It was when the two were somewhat, reluctantly friends, that Spudnik brought that conversation up again.

"I know you're a clone," he started, sounding like a pipsqueak with his high-pitched nervous voice, "do you know what I am?"

"No, I don't."

"Velkhar. You remember Velkhar?"

And then it all clicked in place for Saurus. Why Spudnik had been always on his toes around him. Why Spudnik yelped at the littlest of things. Why it seemed Spudnik was one heart attack away from succumbing on the spot. Saurus enforced that Spudnik could've just told him from the start, and he would've understood. Hearing back in reply that he was deadly afraid of the consequences, didn't sit too well with the general. Then, he proceeded to share his own experiences coming in this strange galaxy. He'd been afraid too. It was all too new, too unfamiliar, yet it was a relief to be away from the entire clone wars situation. The two shook hands, as some sort of peace treaty, comradeship and mutual understanding. From that day on, the two would have one another's backs, the past important no more.

It was no secret that general Saurus was tired of it all. To him, and his one friend at least. He'd been for the past years, keeping up a tough front since Emperor Kairn. It seemingly got better when even he joined hands with others, to protect the galaxy against the End Of Dawn.. But it all went down the gutter just as fast. With more unclaimed territories than ever, it's as if the emperor's hunger hit an all-time high in the last year. The general never liked talking about his thoughts, even when the situation got dire on the battlefield. Even when others were struggling. Even when innocent civilians were kicked out of their homes and trespassers were hunted down. In his mind, Saurus had to stay level-headed and strong to keep everything together. If he'd lost it and others would see his cracks, Saurus feared an entire tsunami would be to come. He had a sense of responsibility, and if he could make it less of a hellscape for the good souls involved, he would try his damnest to do so.

— FUTURE ARC —

The longer the general went on, the more bitter he got. By then, all his old comrades were long gone- Either resigned, or fallen in battle. The single individual that surprisingly still pressed on was Spudnik, who'd somehow managed to climb the ranks all the way to general also. Emperor Kairn's hunger never seemed to be satisfied, and he kept demanding more, more, more. It was endless. By then, it'd also become a running joke within the army to make fun of the emperor. For many, their positions were a source of income. The loyalists to the empire were but few. There was no passion, no goal, no true reasoning to be really here. General Saurus realised the empire had fallen far from grace, and this was the last thing its predecessor wanted to happen.

Thus, a conspiracy started between the handful of Ijero generals. They put their forces and best interests together, to rid the empire of its most vileness. Tackling on the personal forces and bodyguards around the palace would be a challenge if not done correctly- But the emperor himself? It would be as easy as cake. Emperor Kairn had no sense of defending himself, which was the reason for his plenty of soldiers around the royal grounds. The five generals were on a rotation to be the palace nightwatch, which would be the perfect opportunity to strike. Each single one of them knew the place like the back of their hand. All they had to do, was to keep an eye on the emperor's schedule, and strike at the right time.

Spudnik let the others inside through a back passage, on the first night after preparations were done. General Saurus was given the honours of killing the emperor, for he'd been in the army the longest- And he was the one to pitch the assassination. A breath of relief. After this, it'd all be over. No single outsider had to be talked down to anymore. No civilians had to suffer the consequences of the emperor's hunger. No one had to serve this rightful cunt ever again. When news came about, it seemed no one but the few loyalists mourned Emperor Kairn's passing. Another breath of relief.

With that, the five generals put their hands together once again, and took over the empire themselves. Together they formed a small council to look after the territories they'd rightfully and wrongfully won in the past years. General Saurus was put at the top for being the wisest of all. If one told him he'd be standing at the pinnacle of a rulership two decades ago, the clone would've laughed you in the face. Such a great feat would be unimaginable for a single clone, who'd by then long forgotten his assigned numbers. After all, if clones were rid of, they were left for dead, and in 99% of cases they did apparently. But there was no need to dwell on such silly what-ifs. General Saurus had made a place for himself within this galaxy, becoming an individual far more important than he could ever dream of. And that individuality, he'd never let anyone take away.