Week of 2023/2/20 - SSFF - Chapter 11 - 13

Chapter 11: The Imperial Instigator

Morgo IV. Research Outpost Delta. Section C.

Instigator Kendrick sat in his office in Room 21. A man in his forties, the Instigator was wearing a black uniform that was common for Imperial soldiers, but the symbol on the left chest, rather than displaying a golden blade that represented the Imperial Army, instead showed the head of a roaring wolf. There was a sidearm strapped to his belt. An oddity, given most enlisted in the company would return their weapons to the armory as soon as they came back from their missions. Even in a military base, not everyone would walk around armed to the teeth.

Then again, the man wasn’t a member of the 432nd Company. He wasn’t even a part of the Imperial Army. Instead, he was from the Imperial Security Corps.

The Venya Imperium was big, and it should be no surprise that it had many, many different military factions that reported to different individuals and served the goal of defending the Imperium in their own different ways.

Each planet had a Planetary Guard and a Planetary Defense Fleet that reported to the Planetary Defense Command, which then reported to the System Military Command. Most System Military Commands had their own System Defense Fleets. The System Military Command then reported to the Sector High Command. The Sector High Command had authority over all Imperial Army and Imperial Navy units in the sector and was staffed by those chosen by the Greater House and the Imperial Noble that ruled that Imperial Sector.

Theoretically speaking, all these units swear their allegiance to the Leviathan and the Venya Imperium as a whole. The reality, on the other hand, was that they were housed, fed, armed, and led to war by those chosen by the Greater House. Likewise, the Greater Houses have sworn their fair share of oaths, but so what?

The Imperium was a place where power and ambition often co-existed. The greater the power, the greater the ambition. Leviathans that were able to keep their position, and their head, needed their own armed forces to swiftly put down any rebellion and maintain control over the wider Imperium. It was the only way to keep the Lords and Ladies in line.

In the Imperium, four organizations stood as the most zealous guardians of the Leviathan. Four bastions of defense against all external and internal threats to the Imperium and the Leviathan. Four blades forged with the best resources the Imperium had at its disposal.

There was the Imperial Research Academy, the science organization tasked with advancing the technologies in the Imperium at all costs. Then there was the 1st Greater Fleet, also known as Battlefleet the Leviathan’s Pride. As the supposedly strongest and largest armada in the Imperium, the 1st Greater Fleet spent more time patrolling the territories of unruly lords and crushing those who decided to take up arms against the Leviathan than facing off against any foreign threats. Thirdly, there was the Imperial Security Agency, an intelligence agency that served as the primary eyes and ears of the Leviathan.

Finally, there was the Imperial Security Corps. Members of the Corps were often called the Wolves. They were chosen from elite veterans who have shown unquestionable loyalty and indisputable skills alike. These candidates, after going through rigorous background checks, would be put through an additional training program for three years.

Upon graduation, the Wolves would often be deployed on missions deemed important to the Imperium as a whole. Some were tasked with hunting down and purging major disloyal elements within the Imperium, such as the Venya Revolutionary Guard or the Venya Liberation Army. The latter was similar to the Guard except for the fact that they were backed by the Salin Empire instead of the Republic. Some Wolves were deployed en masse on battlefields deemed to be especially important. Others were tasked with bodyguarding key figures and ensuring their loyalty and safety.

The influence of these four organizations was present in every single Imperial Sector. These organizations had their own fleets and armies of various sizes in every sector to protect their interests. If a Lord or a Lady was foolish enough to take up arms against the Leviathan, the forces of these four organizations would be their first obstacle.

Instigator Kendrick and his squad of legionnaires were given the last of the three duties. They were assigned to Doctor Payton with the orders of keeping her alive at all costs.

By all accounts, it would be a simple mission. The outpost itself was well entrenched against the local wildlife, not that the local animals would ever try to storm the base. The only ones at risk were the troopers of the 432nd, and their safety was hardly the Instigator’s concern.

Still, the Instigator continued to do his job with the vigilance to be expected from a man in his position. He kept an eye on everything going on in the base, and that included every mission report filed.

Interestingly, it seemed like his caution would pay off this day.

On the screen in front of the man was a mission report that was filed a mere hours ago by Captain Hanson. Even so, the Instigator had already gone over the file several times, and his brows darkened with every additional time he read it.

The mission itself was quite simple. Nothing more than a routine specimen retrieval mission. The 432nd Company had carried out so many of these missions since arriving on this planet. There had always been casualties, but this time, it was different. Instead of suffering a handful of casualties, the squad lost all but one of its members. Granted, the final member was able to bring the specimen back to the outpost, but this level of loss was still quite odd.

Making things even worse was the fact that according to the final survivor, when the squad completed its mission and was about to leave, they were suddenly swarmed by a well-coordinated horde of local predators. The survivor insisted that these predators were more like an army than a pack of animals. It was almost as if they were being controlled by a single intelligence.

This was quite a concerning idea for so many different reasons, which was why he had instructed the base’s command center to contact this survivor and get her to come to see him. He needed to get more details from her and figure out what risks this entity might pose to the facility and how to mitigate these risks.

On a side note, this was also Captain Hanson’s job, but it seemed like the captain was content with putting the mission report in the base’s archive and calling it a day. It was a level of carelessness that made the Instigator frown, but in the end, he could hardly expect anything more from the captain of a random infantry company from a random division.

The man sighed and leaned back in his leather seat. It was his duty to remain stoic and tireless in front of his subordinates and the Imperial soldiers in the base, and it was only in private moments like this that he could take a breath of relief and allow himself to relax a little. As he did, he reached into a compartment under his desk and retrieved a single ID.

He looked down at the ID and his eyes landed on the rank. Instigator.

There were many ranks within the Imperial Security Corps. The most basic troops, the enforcers, were the legionnaires. Those who served in the Corps’s armies and fleets had their own military ranks of generals, admirals, captains, commodores, and so on. He, on the other hand, was an Instigator.

Instead of being a part of an army or fleet, Instigators like him were tasked with leading their own detachments and pursuing objectives that often require something other than just brute force. The forces Instigators led were often limited, usually made of one or a handful of combat squads and no more than a hundred legionnaires, but they could easily call in help from local Imperial forces.

In one of his previous missions, Instigator Kendrick helped the local Planetary Guard track down and purge a terrorist cell that tried to use a bioweapon on an Imperial world. The Guard had more than enough troops to decimate the cell, but it was the Instigator who helped them track the terrorists down.

There was no doubt that he saved many lives that day. Even now, the Instigator couldn’t help but let out a small smile as he remembered that event. When the local media wanted to interview him, he declined and had one of his legionnaires serve as the representative of the Imperial Security Corps. He didn't need, or want, to have his achievements acknowledged by the public. He knew he had done great service to the Imperium and its people, and that was all that mattered.

There was a knock at the door, followed by the voice of one of his legionnaires. The Instigator’s smile immediately disappeared. As an officer of the Corps, he needed to show authority and nothing else. A smile would threaten that appearance.

“Sir. Private Athena Dane is here to see you.”

“Good.” The Instigator nodded and sat up straight once again. “Let her in.”

Athena stepped into Room 21 and quickly saluted the Instigator. She could feel her heartbeat accelerating as memories of the Imperial Security Corps crept into her head, reminding her of what the man before her and the organization he served was capable of.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that if the Instigator wanted, he could shoot her here and now and no one would dare protest. This was the right given to even the most basic officers of the Corps.

“Instigator Kendrick, sir.” She said quietly.

“At ease, soldier.” The Instigator gestured at the seat in front of his desk. “Sit.”

After Athena sat down, the man pointed at his screen and went straight to the point. “Private, I was going through the report on your mission filed by Captain Hanson. You mentioned that your squad was attacked by a horde of local animals that acted with a high level of coordination. Is it true?”

Just as Athena expected, her plan had worked. This was why she told Captain Hanson this was what happened. She knew all mission reports would go to the base’s archives. She had seen comrades be interviewed by Instigator Kendrick before where they were grilled for more details on their missions, so it was almost guaranteed this would give her an audience with Instigator Kendrick. Even better, it would also seem normal to the Guard members.

Athena knew her problem now wasn’t just having to survive the Guard soldiers. She also had to make sure she wouldn’t be arrested and executed after returning to Imperial space for potentially being a traitor. To do that, she needed someone to vouch for her. If there was one person in this facility who was definitely not a traitor and could vouch for her loyalty, then it was the Instigator.

If the Instigator somehow happened to be a member of the Guard as well, then she would be really out of luck. In that case, her only option would be to call in the Zerg units, purge the base, and then kidnap a pair of pilots and hope they could be her way out.

Instead of answering the officer immediately, Athena glanced at a security camera in the corner.

“Forgive me, sir, but is this conversation private?”

Instigator Kendrick frowned. Why would this young woman care if this conversation was private? Perhaps there was something more to this mission than he expected. In reality, the camera was fully functional, but he was the only one with access to the footage. Of course, there was no need to tell Athena that.

“Speak freely, soldier.”

“Yes sir.” Athena nodded. “To answer your question sir, that is not true.”

“What?”

“What I told Captain Hanson was a lie, sir. We weren’t attacked by the local animals on our way back.”

A lesser officer would be slamming his fists into the table and threatening Athena with corporal punishments now, but Instigator was smart. Obviously, Athena wasn’t just some idiot who randomly lied to her captain and then confessed to him for no reason. She did this on purpose, but why?

“You wanted an audience.” The Instigator immediately knew the answer. “Why?”

“Sir, I have reason to believe a large portion, if not most, of the unit has been turned against the Imperium.”

Once again, Athena told a story. This time, she stuck to the truth a lot closer than she did with Captain Hanson. According to her, she was separated from the squad by accident. She tried to find her way back to them, and after a while, she did. However, before she could greet them, she witnessed most of the squad abruptly turn on and execute Ren and Michael, two members of the squad.

Afterward, she stalked the squad and continued to pick them off one by one. The local atmosphere and environment, along with the element of surprise, allowed her to take out every single member of the squad without being shot even once herself.

In the end, she returned to the base with the sample. However, given the extent of the treachery, she didn't know who she could trust, so she told a lie and secured an audience with Instigator Kendrick to confide in him.

By the time she was finished, the Instigator somehow seemed even more serious than before. He stared into Athena’s eyes, hoping to tell if she was lying or not, as so many different thoughts raced through his head.

Major elements of the garrison had been corrupted against the Imperium? That’s impossible! This was Instigator Kendrick’s initial reaction, but was that really impossible? Generals and admirals have betrayed their Imperium for one reason or another. Lesser and Greater Houses alike have seen numerous treacheries. Was it so absurd to think that some officers and enlisted of the Imperial Army could be twisted against their rightful cause?

“Why did your squad turn on you and the others?” He finally asked. “What are they after?”

“My apologies, sir. I don’t know.” Athena told another lie. She could tell the man the rebels were of the Venya Revolutionary Guard and they were here for Doctor Payton to score some additional points, but how would she explain how she got this information without exposing the Zerg? Torture? Interrogation? In an environment where a single breach in the armor could result in death?

Most likely giving the Instigator an answer now would only increase his suspicion. Athena was confident she had given the man enough information to prove that she wasn’t one of the Guard. No need to take more risk.

As she finished, Instigator Kendrick nodded. Despite all the thoughts going through his head, he did his best to keep a poker face.

“Thank you for your service, trooper. I am aware of this information now. You can go. Don't share this with anyone.”

Athena raised her eyebrows. This was it? Then again, regardless of if the Instigator was taking her accusations seriously or not, it was unlikely he would share too much information with her. No matter. She had achieved her purpose here. Even if the Instigator was completely unprepared for the mutiny, Athena could do her best to keep him alive and rely on him to vouch for her when it was all over.

As Athena left the room, Instigator Kendrick sat there for a few seconds before accessing the comm channel of the legionnaires in his squad.

“Men, we’ve got a problem…”

Chapter 12: The Mutiny

For the next few days, things were quiet. Only members of the Guard and a handful of others in the outpost knew it was the peace before the storm.

One afternoon, Athena was laying in her bed, deep in her thoughts, when the door opened and Adrianna entered. Unsurprisingly, she had a fresh bottle of alcohol in her hand.

“Thanks for giving me your ration card, Athena. I thought I still had a few alcohol cards left. I was wrong.” She raised the bottle in Athena’s direction as she made her way to her own bed and sat down. “You sure you don’t want it? A drink can make the days so much less boring.”

Athena gave the redhead a smile. Over the last few days, the two of them had become quite close. Adrianna might be one of the friendliest individuals in the Imperial Army. Make no mistake. She had her own issues. Aside from being a complete alcoholic, Adrianna had quite the PTSD and was a gambling addict. Then again, the same could be said for most within the unit. The Imperial Army wasn’t a place for people to pick up good habits. Few activities were off bounds for those who could die the next day.

As many times before, Athena declined. Adrianna simply shrugged. As she opened the bottle, she mentioned what she saw on her way to grab the drink.

“I heard the two squads that left this morning just returned. One lost three men. The other lost six. I mean…I know how dangerous the outside world is, but these losses are really adding up.”

Athena raised her eyebrows at the news. Nine dead in one day. She doubted all, if any, were due to what the officers claimed happened.

“On the bright side, this means we may get rotated off this world soon.” Adrianna continued as she took another drink. “When we arrived, we were a full-strength company. We were at…what? 300 men? 350? How many have died since then?”

“A hundred. Maybe more.” Athena replied quietly. Low-ranking troopers like her and Adrianna didn't have access to all the numbers, but they still had eyes and ears. Plus, people talk, especially given how boring life in this outpost was. “At least a third of the company is dead. You’re right. Eventually, we will be rotated with a fresh company. The question is how low our numbers have to get before that happens.”

“Yeah. I’d say we have to lose another few dozen men before that happens.” The redhead shrugged. She had also seen her fair share of things in the Imperial Army. If they were going against an enemy like the Republic, then the higher-ups would be deploying reinforcements sooner. However, right now they were facing animals who could never pose a threat to the outpost itself, and the company still had the numbers to send out raiding parties into the wild. Knowing the higher-ups, they would be fine with waiting a little longer.

“Either way, I just hope we get rotated back to 9A2-C-8 instead of some new military base on a remote planet in the middle of nowhere.” The young woman continued, casually ignoring the possibility that she might never make it off this world. “I know a few really good bars and clubs back home. Just to be clear, you do drink right, Athena? When you have real breaks?”

“Yeah.” Athena simply nodded, not really knowing what to say.

“Great. And…are you into guys or girls?”

“I…” Athena raised her eyebrows, a little uncomfortable by the question. “Both?”

“Awesome. That’s double the options.” Adrianna raised her bottle in Athena’s direction again. She could see that Athena was a little distracted. “Look, pal. I know you joined the Imperial Army to defend the Imperium. That’s cool and all, but it’s also important to have some fun when you can. Booze. Boys. Girls. You gotta learn to reward yourself after a deployment. We’re not machines, after all. We’re people, and people need time off.”

“You won’t find me arguing against that,” Athena admitted. Adrianna did have a point, and she was planning on having some fun in this new galaxy. It was just that, unlike Adrianna, she knew that getting off this world might not be such a simple task.

As Adrianna pulled out her PEI and started reading something, Athena closed her eyes and opened the game once again. Her eyes were trained on the 13 roaches in the game. 13 Zerg beasts that could deploy into this world and start killing as soon as she gave the order. 13 units who would secure her way off this world.

In the last few days, Athena did more than just have casual conversations with her new friend. She also spent some more time exploring the system and its units as much as her circumstances allowed.

One of the things that she realized as she was poking and prodding at the units was that when she selected the roaches and entered the deployment screen, in addition to deploying the roaches at the same level as her, she could also deploy them both above and under her. Both could come in quite handy in certain circumstances. In this case, this meant Athena could deploy the roaches underneath the surface of the outpost.

In addition, roaches were one of the few Zerg units capable of moving underground. When they were underground, they still had a limited vision of what was above. This not only meant the roaches could easily move around the base and take their foes by surprise, but it also helped Athena hide the connection between herself and the roaches.

Even if the presence of the roaches was looked into in the future, they would likely be thought of as nothing more than another lifeform native to Morgo IV who happened to be attacking the outpost at a coincidental time. How would they be related to Athena Dane, a loyalist Imperial trooper lucky enough to survive the mutiny?

At this point, Athena had done all she could to increase her chances of survival when the attack would inevitably strike. Now, all she needed to do was wait for the rebels to act.

Luckily, she didn't have to wait any longer.

Just as Athena was staring at the roaches, a string of gunshots suddenly exploded from a distance away. Athena instinctively snapped in that direction. A small smile crept onto her face.

At long last…

A few minutes ago, in the command center of the outpost located at the heart of the Imperial structure, a pair of troopers turned pale as a warning suddenly appeared on the screen in front of them. The outpost’s scanners had caught onto the figure of an unidentified starship. The starship appeared to be the size of a light cruiser, and it was approaching the outpost rapidly.

One of the troopers immediately informed his direct supervisor, one of the sergeants in charge of the command center. After confirming the appearance of the light cruiser and its movement pattern, the sergeant left the room, claiming he was going to fetch Captain Hanson. The others in the command center, four men and three women, waited there patiently for the commander of the company to arrive.

In a few short minutes, their commander did arrive, and he wasn’t alone.

“Captain…sir what is going on?”

One of the troopers in the command center turned and greeted Captain Hanson, his words having barely left his mouth when he realized the captain was followed by four men, all of them armed with Defender-S automatic rifles designed to be used by men outside of their power armor. This was obviously odd. Most soldiers in the base weren’t armed 24/7, and if they did go to the armory to fetch weapons against this unidentified intruder, then they should have put on their power armor as well. Putting on armor did take much longer than just grabbing a rifle, but the enemies were still a distance away, right?

What was even odder was that these men just raised their rifles in the direction of him and his comrades.

Captain Hanson didn't answer him. There was no point in enlightening a dead man. Instead, the four soldiers beside him pulled the trigger and opened fire on the loyalists within the command center. Within seconds, the seven loyalists were all dead. The Guard soldiers struck hard and fast, not that it mattered too much. None of the loyalists was armed.

As the dust settled, the sergeant who was previously in the command center made his way up to one of the consoles. He sighed at the sight of the body of the trooper sitting in front of the console. He was a young man who was conscripted into service. Unfortunately, this young man was also a terrible liar and was deemed to be way too risky to be recruited on this mission. Hence, he had to be put down.

It would be a lie for the sergeant to say he didn't care about the young man. They have served together for two years and the young man had always been a good lad, but there was no time for these thoughts right now. The sergeant, a veteran who had been in the Army for seven years, forced himself to focus. He tapped a few keys on the console and sent a message to the income light cruiser.

It didn't take long before a reply reached him.

“Sir,” The sergeant turned to Captain Hanson. “They are deploying their ground forces now. They want an update on our situation here.”

Captain Hanson nodded. He tapped his earpiece and accessed a pre-established communication channel exclusively used by the rebels.

Already, gunshots could be heard from all over the base. As soon as he received the news from the sergeant, Captain Hanson had given the go-ahead to all Guard fighters within the base. These members of the Guard have all been waiting for this moment for weeks. Unlike the loyalists, they knew exactly where to go and what to do.

“All units, status report.”

“This is Sergeant Louis. Our operation has been a success. We have taken the armory and are arming ourselves, all according to the plan. As soon as we are done, we will detonate the armory and move to the hangar. We lost four men…”

“Understood. Next!” Captain Hanson cut Sergeant Louis off. He didn't have time to listen to the details, nor should he need to.

“This is Sergeant Diaz. The shuttle bay is ours. Casualties are minimal.”

“Good.” Captain Hanson nodded in satisfaction. “The Republic is deploying their ground troops to the hangar as we speak. Hold it until then. Next!”

A few more rebel commanders reported, and their words made the captain take a breath of relief. Overall things were going quite well across the base. The armory, the hangar, and the command center were both taken by the rebels. Multiple rebel teams have been gunning down unsuspecting and mostly unarmed loyalists at the mess hall and the bathrooms. Another squad had taken the garage and eliminated the loyalists garrisoned there. Two more squads were moving across the living quarters.

Their job was to simply neutralize as many loyalists as possible when it was the easiest to do so. The more loyalists they killed, the easier it would be for the Republic ground troops to do their job.

“Inform them that everything is going according to the plan. We have secured the hangar bay and are ready to receive their reinforcements." Captain Hanson instructed the sergeant and glanced at the four men around him. “Follow the plan and get the explosives in place. Once he sends out the message we will detonate the command center and retreat to the hangar bay.”

The four men acted immediately. None of them questioned why they were destroying the command center, for they knew the answer long ago. In this facility, Instigator Kendrick and his legionnaires had higher security access than Captain Hanson. If the rebels didn't physically destroy the command center, it was possible for the Instigator to access the system via remote terminals and use it against the rebels and their allies. In fact, it was almost a guarantee.

“Sir!” Suddenly, one of the squad commanders called out in the comms. “We have spotted Instigator Kendrick and two of his legionnaires. We killed one of them but lost two men in the process.”

“Where are they now?” Captain Hanson frowned. The combat squad of the Imperial Security Corps. The biggest threat to their plan. Unlike the loyalists, the legionnaires were almost always armed, and half of them were always in their power armor and stationed at the lab at any given moment. This was why the rebels never considered just storming the lab themselves. They might not win even with the numbers, and even if they did win, they would likely lose many of their numbers.

“They seem to be heading back to the lab, sir.”

“Then let them be. Follow our plan and retreat to the hangar. We’ll let our friends handle these Imperial zealots.”

“Yes sir.”

Captain Hanson turned to his men in the command center. Just as they were about to leave, a panicked cry, one that was a far stretch from the cold-calculating reports he received previously, appeared in the comms. It belonged to one of the squad leaders.

“We…we are under attack. What the bloody hell is this thing?”

Chapter 13: Roaches v.s. The Guard

When the gunshots first rang out, Athena immediately got back onto her feet. Beside her, Adrianna stood up as well. She did drink quite a lot, but when danger was near, she quickly proved that she was far more than a simple drunk. A simple drunk wouldn’t have lasted years in the Imperial Army.

“Those are Defenders. Defender-71s.” The redhead realized, referring to the other name of Defender-S rifles. “What the hell is going on? Did the local animals somehow breach the perimeter? But…if so the gunshots wouldn’t be coming from everywhere. Something is very wrong here!”

Athena observed her new friend in silence. If Adrianna was a member of the Guard, then she likely knew Athena wasn’t. In fact, there was no way Adrianna would be drinking so much at a time like this. Yes, some amateurs might drink before a battle to help calm themselves down, but veterans like the two of them knew the boldness that alcohol brought often came at a great cost. It took more than fearlessness to survive in a battle.

As the thoughts went through her head, Athena quickly entered the game, selected the 13 roaches, and deployed them underground. As she expected, the action was subtle. If she didn't have the link between herself and the Zerg units, she never would have known that 13 Zerg roaches just appeared underneath her feet.

Under her command, 11 of the 13 roaches started moving out in various directions. Their order was to find the rebel fighters and, once Athena gave the order, unburrow from the ground and strike. The other two roaches stayed with Athena, acting as her bodyguards.

Adrianna tapped her earpiece and switched between the various channels. “Anyone? Is anyone…”

Before she could continue, Athena turned to her new friend and shook her head. Adrianna frowned but muted herself regardless. “What is going on here, Athena?” She asked, realizing Athena might know a little more about this whole debacle than she did.

Several thoughts quickly went through Athena’s head. Adrianna was likely a loyalist. Of course, Athena would test this further. If she was a loyalist, then Athena could reveal the same information she revealed to Instigator Kendrick to her. She could help Adrianna survive. After all, Athena did grow to like her new friend.

“It’s complicated and I don’t know too much either, but elements of the company have gone rogue,” Athena explained. “They have likely betrayed the Imperium.”

“What?” Adrianna turned pale, well aware of the implications of this sudden betrayal. “But…why?” She answered herself before Athena could. “Doesn’t matter now. Do you know who we can trust? Wait, how did you know this? Are you…”

“No.” Athena shook her head. “It’s a long story that we don’t have time for now.”

Adrianna nodded slowly. Even in a situation like this, she was still calm enough to think properly. “I believe you. If you have gone rogue you wouldn’t be talking to me now. Judging from the sound of the gunshots the rogue elements have likely gone to the armory and accessed the arsenal before opening fire. Likewise, since I’m here talking to you, you should know that I’m not one of them either.”

Athena nodded. It seemed like the two of them had similar deduction processes.

“Do you have a plan?” Adrianna asked.

“You can say that.” Athena lied, reminding herself that she was just a loyal trooper who came across some information by accident. A loyalist like her wouldn’t be too concerned about her own safety, not when the greater good of the Imperium was at stake. If anything, martyrdom was quite a tempting idea. “There is only one thing on this planet that those bastards may want, and that is Doctor Payton from the Academy. We need to get to the lab now and make sure she is safe.”

“I don’t like our chances. We are unarmed and unarmored, and we have no idea who’s a friend and who’s a foe.” Adrianna shrugged and pointed at the sword symbol on her left choice. “But I guess we don’t have any other options. Might as well go down fighting for the sigil on our uniforms, right?”

“Indeed.” Athena nodded and did her best to not sound sarcastic. "For the Imperium."

After reaching a consensus, the two of them made their way to the door. Athena tossed a quick glance into the hallway before snapping back at Adrianna and putting a finger over her lips. Almost at the same time, a few bursts of gunshots rang out from not far away, followed by the pained groan of a man. Another burst of gunshots, and the groans were silenced.

Athena raised three fingers to Adrianna and then crossed her index fingers. Three men. All in armor.

Adrianna bit her lips and readied herself. This was suicide. She knew it. Athena likely also knew it. But as she said to Athena, they didn't really have a choice. Perhaps they could last a little longer if they hid in their room and prayed they wouldn’t be found, but it was obvious these men were searching the rooms. Adrianna personally preferred to take her chances and go down fighting.

Luckily for her, Athena was hardly as defenseless as she seemed. Right beside Adrianna, Athena took a deep breath and issued a single command.

Go roaches…kill them all.

And the pair of roaches serving as her bodyguard obeyed.

In the hallway, three Guard troopers in Guardian-class power armor suddenly ceased their movement. With their face shields lifted, they could hear a strange sound coming from nearby. It was as if something sharp was cutting through metal. It didn't take long before they came to a shocking realization. The sound was coming…from below.

Right in front of them, the steel plating that served as the floor to the hallway cracked and split. It was almost as if something was trying to dig its way out from underneath, but…what? What could be under their feet? And how did they even get there?

One of the troops considered shooting at the ground but wondered if that would really be a smart idea. Another man reached for his grenade. A third turned on his comms. But before any of them could act, the floor suddenly erupted. Pieces of steel were tossed into the air, and from the newly formed opening emerged…a single Zerg roach.

“What the shit…” To his credit, the trooper closest to the roach reacted to this with both curses and action. Even as he was swearing, his rifle was already trained on the roach and his finger was already pulling hard on the trigger. Bullet after bullet hit the roach, not necessarily because the man was a great shot but more so because the roach was wide enough to cover most of the hallway. It would take true skill to miss such a giant target.

To the trooper’s horror, the bullets from the Defender automatic rifle merely bounced off the thick plating of the Zerg roach. That was it. Rounds capable of piercing power armor looked like nothing but toys against the heavily armed roach.

He never got another chance to act, because the roach simply raised one of its scythe-like blades and cut the trooper in half. He did almost everything right, but in certain cases, survival was just impossible.

The second trooper pulled out his grenade just as a shower of green liquid rained onto his body. The acidic saliva from the roach easily burned through the man’s armor before working on his flesh. He would have lasted a few seconds, a few long and painful seconds, if the roach didn't immediately follow the acidic saliva up with another strike of its blade and put the trooper out of his misery.

“We…we are under attack. What the bloody hell is this thing?” The death of two of his comrades brought the third trooper some time to scream into his comms and let the others know something was wrong. Unfortunately for him, that was all the time he had. Another roach emerged from behind him and cut him in half with a single strike.

With their job done, the two roaches dug their way into the ground once again, leaving the mauled and dissolved corpses of the three rogue troopers.

As the roaches disappeared, Athena turned back to Adrianna. She could see the horror in the redhead’s eyes. It was a level of horror that far exceeded what Adrianna felt when she learned of the betrayal.

“What…what was that?” Adrianna whispered, not knowing if the roaches were still there.

“I don’t know…one of the local species we have yet to identify and catalog?” Athena lied, pushing the story she hoped the Imperials would believe. “Well, at least they’re helping us kill the rebels.”

The two of them waited for a few more seconds before exiting the room and entering the hallway. Of course, the hallway was empty. The two roaches were back to lurking under Athena now that their job was done, not that Adrianna needed to know that.

The two of them approached the three bodies, and even though they were enemies, Athena still had to admit she was a little disgusted by the scene of the carnage. Getting cut in half by giant blades wasn’t pretty, and neither was being dissolved in strong acid.

“Careful.” Athena pointed at the acid that was still sizzling on the body of the second trooper. She might be the leader of the Zerg units, but acid didn't really have allegiances. Adrianna nodded. She didn't need to be reminded to avoid the acid after seeing what it did to a fully armored trooper.

The two of them picked up two of the Defender rifles from the fallen rebels.

“Defender-89s.” Adrianna said as she checked the condition of one of the rifles. “Gonna be a bitch to use without our armors, but I guess they’ll have to do for now. They're better than nothing.”

Athena nodded and retrieved a few ammo clips from one of the fallen rogue troopers. She pointed in the direction of the lab.

“That way. Let’s go.”

As the two of them moved, Athena walked in front of Adrianna on purpose. This was her final test for her new friend. She gave Adrianna both the weapon and the opportunity. If Adrianna was a member of the Guard, this would be her perfect chance to strike.

Of course, if Adrianna did try to shoot her in the back, she would find Athena to be more ready than expected. Even though Athena had her back facing Adrianna, the two roaches beneath them still gave Athena enough vision to tell if Adrianna tried to raise her rifle. A veteran like Adrianna would never aim her firearm in the direction of an ally even if the safety was on. If that happened, Athena would turn around and take care of the traitor.

It wouldn’t be fun for her, but she wouldn’t allow a betrayal like this to go unpunished.

Luckily for both parties involved, Adrianna never made an attempt on Athena’s life.

As Athena and Adrianna headed for the lab, 11 roaches have already started slaughtering their way throughout the base. Under Athena’s orders, they targeted any troopers they could find, only avoiding a handful of individuals Athena wanted to keep alive. Given that most of the loyalists were taken out in the first minutes of the mutiny, most of the roaches’ victims were Guard members, just as Athena intended. If she wanted to get off this planet without raising any suspicion, she needed to weaken the rebels as much as possible.

---

On the other side, Captain Hanson was faced with a difficult situation.

Everything was going well all the way up to the panicked scream in the comms a few minutes ago. Since then, more and more cries of panic and pain have flooded the comms channel. Guard soldiers all over the facility reported encountering beasts that dug their way out from underneath. These beasts cut through some troops with their blades and melted others with strong acid. Light arms fire were useless against them. The same could be said for shrapnel grenades. In most cases, the calls for help didn't last any longer than a few seconds.

“Sir!” The sergeant turned to Captain Hanson. “What do we do now?”

“Get this information to the Republic ship as soon as you can. They need to be ready for what's going on down here.” The captain quickly made up his mind and tapped his comms again. “All units, abandon previous tasks and head for the hangar right now! Don’t try to fight them. We don’t have the firepower or the numbers!”

Two minutes later, after the sergeant notified the Republic light cruiser of the presence of the beasts, Captain Hanson and his men detonated the command center and fled out into the hallway. They were lucky enough to make their way to the hangar without being attacked. But as they ran into the hangar, it quickly became clear that they were one of the lucky few that did.

“Is this everyone?” The captain scanned the hangar. How many rebels were here in total? 20? 30? They had over a hundred men when they initiated the mutiny!

“Sergeant Louis and his men are on their way here with heavy weapons. They have maybe a dozen men. They have just repelled an attack from one of those beasts.” Sergeant Diaz explained with a frown. “As far as we can tell they’re the only ones still heading here. The others…I’m afraid they’re all lost.”

“Shit…” Captain Hanson cursed. This wasn’t supposed to happen. None of this was supposed to happen! “Where did those things come from? We have never encountered any of them before!”

“Who knows?” Sergeant Diaz could only shrug. “This is a big planet and we only explored a tiny piece of it. Maybe they’re sentient. Maybe they have been observing us the entire time and were just waiting to strike. It doesn’t matter. Help is coming, and we will be out of here soon.”

Captain Hanson nodded, praying to all the gods in the world that his old friend was right.