Week of 2023/4/10 - SSFF - Chapter 29 - Chapter 31

Chapter 29: Orbital Command

By the time Adrianna and the Terran reapers and marauders reached the command center on the top floor of the control tower, they were a little surprised to see several dozen Decima personnel with their side arms on the ground.

“Here’s my question…why the hell did you put up so much of a fight if you were gonna yield just like this?” Adrianna wondered as the Terran troops searched the prisoners for possible hidden weapons. The Decima soldiers put up a good fight on the way up. She had expected some type of last stand here, not an immediate surrender.

“Our colonel was a fool, ma’am. He tried to resist the liberation of our world by the Imperium.” Major Stanz, as the new self-declared leader of this group, stepped forward and did his best to appeal to his new Imperial overlord. After seeing how the Terrans acted after entering, the major believed Adrianna was their leader. Adrianna’s Guardian class was mistaken as an officer’s Indominated class.

“So you executed him.” Adrianna glanced at the colonel’s body on the ground. There was a mocking tone in her voice. “You’re a major, right?”

“Yes…yes ma’am...sir.”

“And did your kingdom reward you well for your service?”

“I…yes sir.”

“And in your kingdom’s hour of need, you shot your commanding officer in the head and surrendered.”

Adrianna didn't really care about the Kingdom of Decima. She had no issues with the Decima soldiers who surrendered. It was just that most officers, in the Venya Imperium and the Kingdom of Decima, actively chose this as their career for life and were often well-compensated for it. How many times had they sent their conscripts to die in the name of their country? The least they could do was sacrifice themselves when the time came.

Whether the colonel was a competent officer or not, at least he had the decency to go down fighting. This major, on the other hand…

“I…” Major Stanz wasn’t sure what to say for a second. He had expected his surrender to be welcomed by the Imperials, but it wasn’t like he had any other options left. All he could do in response to Adrianna’s mocking words was try his best to remain submissive. “That is correct. It is a shameful thing to do, but I would gladly be called a sinner if it means working toward the noble goal of freeing my people.”

Adrianna snickered again. The man obviously thought she was the head of some Imperial strike team and was doing his best to kiss her ass. There was just one problem. She was no longer Imperial, and if anything she despised the Imperium. What might make a loyal Imperial officer quite happy only brought her annoyance. She turned her attention to the objects the Terran marines confiscated from the Decima officers.

Suddenly, behind her, one of the Terran marines in blue armor took a step forward and approached Major Stanz.

“Major,” Athena said with the voice of the marine. The deep voice that carried her words made her flinch a little, but she did her best to act natural. “I believe your superior had made an attempt to request reinforcements. What is their status now?”

Like Adrianna, she wasn’t a fan of the major, but the man still had use for now. By executing his own colonel, the major had ensured that he had no choice but to work with the Imperials, and for now, he clearly thought they were Imperial. Most likely he would provide rather credible intelligence.

Major Stanz glanced at Adrianna and turned to Athena, unhappy by the slight of the Imperial officer and the fact that he had to deal with someone who was likely a common Imperial soldier. Still, he was not really in a position to do much.

Even from just steps away, he didn't recognize the type or the color scheme of Athena’s suit, but he knew better than to ask about it. Instead, he nodded and gave his best reply.

“Indeed, sir. Two battalions were recalled to this airfield. The nearest platoons should arrive in three minutes. The furthest ones are less than five minutes away. Not long ago, High Command also replied to us and promised us reinforcements in the form of a fresh armored brigade.”

Athena nodded, not that Major Stanz could see it through the helmet of the CMC armor. Two battalions likely composed of several hundred to a thousand men with ample air support. The armored bridge would also be quite a problem. If she hoped to fight, she would need to use her Terran assets well. If she chose to fight, she could use the widow mines and set up an ambush inside the airfield…

“Sir, with your permission, I may be able to help with…handling the 4th Regiment.”

“What?”

“I may be able to help the Imperium handle the 4th Regiment, sir.” Major Stanz repeated. “The last message sent out from here was a few minutes ago. I was able to intercept the normal protocols that would go down when a commanding authority had been compromised. The units of this regiment are still unaware that this command center had been breached. They will still obey orders that come from here.”

“So what? You want to tell them to lay down their weapons?” Adrianna, who was keeping an ear on the conversation, scoffed from the side. She had emptied a number of wallets from the Decima officers and poured the Decima credits into a small pile on a desk.

“Of course not, sir. An order like that will never be carried out.” Major Stanz wasn’t a fool, and nor were the officers and soldiers in the regiment. “However, if I order all battalions to gather at a single exposed location to repel an enemy attack that will never come…your forces can take them by surprise, sir. A few missile or artillery strikes will be enough to neutralize most of the regiment.”

Major Stanz simply stood there, unmoving as he tried to toss his troops under the bus. He had already betrayed the Kingdom of Decima to save his own skin when he shot Colonel Decker. He might as well go down that path even further and go all in with the Imperium. If the Imperium was able to destroy the 4th Regiment with ease, they had the opportunity to capitalize on this opening and deploy even more reinforcements behind the main Decima forces. It could likely spell victory for them.

Knowing the Imperium, they would heavily reward the bringer of this victory and make an example out of him. Yes, countless within the kingdom would call him a traitor, but by the time this war was over it would be he who had the power, and it was those who criticized him who would be hung or burned alive. The truth was what the victors declared.

Athena stood there for a second, not too sure what to say. She already knew the major wasn’t the most moral individual out there when she saw the colonel’s body on the ground, but this? Handing his own troops to the enemies on a silver platter to be slaughtered? This was a new level of selfishness.

Yet at the moment, all she could do was smile behind the helmet.

If the Major was talking to a real officer of the Imperial Special Forces, he might actually get the wealth and promotion he longed for. This level of ruthlessness and decisiveness was exactly what one needed to prosper in the Imperium. Unfortunately for him, he had mistaken what was happening since the very beginning, and this mistake had essentially sealed his fate.

Athena had no sympathy for the man, but she had to admit the major had a point. She wouldn’t be able to call in a missile strike to blow everything up, but she could use it to set up ambushes or even just to secure her own way out.

“Human technologies detected in close proximity to units…”

“Analyzing technology…”

“Analysis complete. Technologies show resemblance to Terran engineering…”

“Terran structure Orbital Command has been unlocked…”

Athena was just about to say something to the major when a notification hit her, but her excitement was cut short when she heard the Terran structure that had been unlocked. Orbital command? She was in a Decima airfield! Why would she unlock the orbital command instead of the starport? What would she even use the orbital command for?

In Starcraft games, command centers could be upgraded to orbital commands, allowing the structure to use abilities such as calling down mules, performing scans, and calling down attachments to supply depots. Lore-wise, they often achieved this by coordinating with space assets such as battlecruisers and satellites. As of now, Athena had access to neither.

Plus, the Orbital Command was a structure, and up until now, Athena has never had a chance to try to build Starcraft structures in real life. She didn't even know if that was possible for her. Even if it was, building a Terran structure on a planet as populated as Sierra Prime would be insanely risky.

“Sir? We should act quickly.” Major Stanz asked quietly, doing his best to remain calm. He was confident his offer would be accepted by any competent Imperial commander, but here he was talking to what seemed like a trooper and a low-ranking officer. It was entirely possible they would simply shoot him and get it over with. “The longer we wait…”

“Quiet!” Athena snapped. She was usually a calm person, but she really wasn’t in a good mood right now and she had no intention of being nice to someone like Major Stanz.

The major lowered his head and went silent.

“Sir.” Rum suddenly spoke to Athena through the intern comm in their armor. “I would suggest that you check out the orbital command center, sir. It may be helpful in this situation.”

Athena frowned, but she trusted Rum enough to know he must be saying this for a good reason. As units produced by the system, these marines likely also knew more about the capability of the system structures than she did.

“Send the message to delay the reinforcements, Major. Inform them that the assault has been repelled. I need time to report to my superiors for further instructions.” She said to Major Stanz to buy herself more time. Of course, she didn't forget to make some empty promises to the man. “Serve the Imperium well, Major, and I can guarantee that you will be rewarded for your service.”

Major Stanz nodded before turning to one of the terminals in the command center. Adrianna and two other marines followed him to keep an eye on his actions, not that it was really necessary. If Decima reinforcements retook this location, Major Stanz would likely be shot on the spot for treason.

“Keep an eye on them for me,” Athena said to Rum before quickly returning to her own body.

As soon as she was back, she entered the game, selected her main command center, and upgraded it into an orbital command center. As always, the process was quick. Within almost an instant, the top of the command center had caved in and was replaced by a giant satellite dish.

Before Athena could try to figure out what she could do with the orbital command, she heard a voice in her ear. It was a female, mechanical voice that sounded quite familiar. She took a few seconds to realize where she heard the voice from.

“Commander. Adjutant is online and at your service.”

“Ok…” Athena whispered to herself, intrigued. In Starcraft lore, Adjutants were the artificial intelligence advisors to Terran commanders. They were often responsible for helping their commanders maintain control over the battlefield. Essentially they were very smart computers. “What can you do for me, adjutant?”

“My functions include coordinating Terran combat units and structures, downloading and storing data, interfacing with and hacking into computer terminals, and performing computation tasks.”

“Downloading and storing data? What do you need to do that? Do I need to construct a Terran orbital command or command center in my world?” Athena asked. As of now the adjutant only existed inside the game. She wasn’t too sure how it would be able to download data from real life.

“There are two ways, commander. If you enter close proximity to a computer terminal, I will be able to remotely access the terminal. Otherwise, you will need to construct Terran command centers or orbital commands in your world. However, you are unable to construct structures in your world as of now.”

“Wait, what?” Athena frowned. She couldn’t build structures now? Why? “Why not?”

“A specific criteria must be met to unlock this function.”

“What criteria?”

“Unknown.”

Athena’s brows darkened. Just because she didn't have the space to build structures in the real world up until now didn't mean structures were useless. In fact, many Starcraft structures could potentially be quite effective in the real world. Bunkers. Missile turrets. Even planetary fortresses.

“Is this true for the Protoss and the Zerg as well?”

“Affirmative.”

“Fine.” Athena knew arguing with the adjutant would be a waste of time, so she forced herself to focus on the tasks at hand. “Do other Terran units have access to you in this form?”

“Negative, commander.”

“That's perfect. At least it's better than nothing.” Athena comforted herself and turned to the control tower. As a major military base, the control tower likely had access to a number of important Decima databases and archives that could contain data she might find helpful in the future. There was little she could do before unlocking the orbital command. What could she do? Memorize everything she might need? Or try to download them into the potentially compromised and traceable Imperial PEI?

Now, she could download as much information as possible and take them with her as she left. At the very least, this would help her understand this planet much more than the Imperial pre-invasion meetings did. Despite the limitations, it seemed like the adjutant had its uses.

Chapter 30: New Plan

Athena stepped into the command center once again, this time in her own body and followed by Click and Dash. The first thing she saw was a panicked Major Stanz walking circles in front of the communication console he had been working at. He didn't seem too happy. Rum quickly explained to Athena why.

“Sir, he has sent the messages. The two battalions have replied and confirmed that they will be complying with the orders. However, the 5th Armored Brigade has made no reply so far.”

“The 5th Armored Brigade is under the command of the 56th Legion.” The major did his best to explain the reason behind his failure. “I am trying to contact the Legionary Command, but I don’t think I will be able to get them to recall the reinforcements. At least not before the 5th Brigade arrives!”

“And how far away is this brigade?” Athena asked.

“10 minutes? 20?” Major Stanz estimated. “They were deployed not long ago. We still have time, sir! If the Imperium can call in air strikes and further ground reinforcements, we can still capitalize on this opportunity!”

Athena ignored the major and walked up to one of the command consoles. Major Stanz took a step toward Athena hoping to convince who he saw as a newly arrived Imperial officer, but two marines quickly stopped him in his tracks.

“Is this close enough?” Athena whispered to the adjutant.

“Affirmative, commander.” There was a pause. “I am currently linked to the Decima Defense Network via this terminal. I will not be able to maintain this access without being near a terminal. However, with your permission, I will download all available information for future use.”

“Permission granted.” Athena nodded. “While you’re at it, give me a snapshot of what is going on between the Decima and the Imperial forces. They have been fighting throughout the night. Who’s winning?”

Her next decision would depend on the course of the war between the Imperium and the Kingdom. She had pondered the idea of sending a few roaches to where the battle was the heatest to scout and collect resources, but she decided against this idea. Given the intensity of the firepower in those areas, there was a decent chance for roaches to be killed by explosions even if they were underground. If the roaches were discovered, both sides would have a lot of questions. In a war between two human factions, where did a three-meter tall underground xenomorph that could spit acid come from?

And if the connection was made to the underground beasts from Research Outpost Delta, Athena could very well find a target on her back.

“Accessing data now…data accessed. Forming a report now. 1.56 standard hours ago, the Decima Royal Legion launched an assault on Imperial Landing Zones designed Alpha, Beta, Lemma, Omega, and Victor, using weapons including long-range hypersonic missiles, stealth bombers, and artillery units. Approximately 34 Standard and Auxiliary Legions were deployed into combat. Imperial presence at landing zones Beta, Lemma, and Victor was eradicated. The Decima Legions have also suffered heavy losses in the process.”

Athena sighed to herself. Landing Zone Lemma was where she and the rest of the 329th Infantry Division were supposed to go. It was also where Alex, Sato, and the other survivors of the crash landing went. Knowing how landing battles worked, it was unlikely the Imperial units at Landing Zone Lemma had a way out. It was likely everyone there was killed or captured.

The adjutant continued explaining. This location belonged to the 14th Legion, which was one of the main legions fighting in the front, and as such regiments in the legion were given access to a lot of real-time battle reports.

“At the same time, the Imperium has been deploying reinforcements to Landing Zones Alpha and Omega. 0.87 hours ago, a warning was given to all Decima units that the Imperial Navy was beginning to acquire orbital dominance over the battlefield and to practice caution. 0.32 hours ago, a small number of Imperial heavy transports landed at Landing Zone Omega. It is estimated there are at least 4 armored divisions present at Landing Zone Omega as of now.”

“The Imperium is breaking through.” Athena understood what this meant. The Decima forces have launched a huge counterattack that exhausted most of its available units in the area, and it had failed to push the Imperial forces off the planet despite numerous losses. Not only so, but Decima’s naval and anti-orbit measures were also beginning to fail.

It was unlikely the Decima Royal Navy would be destroyed, but if its forces were pushed away from the landing zones, Imperial ships could freely deploy reinforcements, send bombers and fighters, and fire missiles at Decima ground positions.

“The Decima Royal Legion still has a number of missile bases and starports near the region.” The adjutant added. "The Imperium has an upper hand, but it will take time before they have full control over the battlefield."

“The downloading is complete, commander. A number of security protocols were encountered but bypassed. If you would like, I can attempt to access more classified information in the network, but it will take time.” The adjutant reported before adding. “A secured message was just sent to this base from the 56th Legion Command. The 5th Armored Brigade’s mission is unchanged.”

Almost at the same time, Major Stanz saw the message as well. “56th Legion Master Winchester…damn it! They’re still coming here!” He snapped to Adrianna, who he still thought was the commanding officer here despite not doing much since entering. “Sir, we need to act now! It may also be safer if we get out of here as soon as possible…”

At the same time as Major Stanz was panicking, Athena had made up her mind as well.

The Terran forces had finished exploring the airfield a while ago, and it became clear this airfield wasn’t enough to unlock the Terran starport. Unfortunate, but in hindsight understandable. The Overlord and Overwatch gunships stored in Airfield Sigma were almost exclusively used for in-atmosphere combat, and they likely lacked the variety and technology needed for an unlock.

Luckily, Athena had more options available. The adjutant had collected a lot of information on other Decima locations, including starports that likely held starfighters and starbombers and even planetside shipyards that produced starfighters and smaller ships. If she could infiltrate the shipyards and acquire schematics, she stood a decent chance of unlocking the Terran starport.

In the worst case, she and Adrianna, and maybe a few Terran bodyguards, would disguise themselves as refugees and flee to the Decima cities yet to have been taken. If possible, she would find a way to smuggle off the planet. If not, she would try to assume a new identity and settle down for a while.

Eventually, this war would end with one side holding Sierra Prime, and transportation would resume. No faction could afford to blockade a world as populated as Sierra Prime forever.

Plus, this area was getting much more dangerous for her with the Imperial forces likely to push forward soon and more Decima reinforcements arriving. Now that she took a major airfield, it was likely the Decima forces would be looking for her Terran forces too. She had also acquired samples of most of the standard Decima weapons so new unlocks would be difficult.

In other words, she was leaving this place behind.

But before that, she had something she needed to take care of.

“Adjutant. Do you have the location of the different units in this regiment?”

“Affirmative, commander.”

“Can you plot a path for me to take without running into these units?”

“Affirmative. These units are scattered through an area of hundreds of kilometers squared. Evading them will be simple.”

“Good.” Athena turned to the marines, marauders, and reapers. “Blow up all the command infrastructures here. Destroy everything electronic in this room.”

When it came to the Decima soldiers she took prisoner, Athena was fine with releasing them as soon as it was safe to do so. This was what she had in mind with these officers as well. Perhaps some might see this as her being soft, but Athena wasn’t greedy enough for resources that she would gun down defenseless prisoners who had surrendered already just for the income. Now, if these prisoners posted a threat to her and she had no choice, that would be a different story.

There was no way she could bring these prisoners with her. If she left these officers live, they would be released when the 5th Armored Brigade arrives. Colonel Decker might be dead, but the majors in command of the battalions were still here. They could easily regain control of the regiment and potentially try to hunt her down. The chances that she would be caught were quite low, but she wanted to further decrease the chances by destroying this command center. By the time the command staff gets the infrastructure back online and re-establish communication with the individual units, she would be long gone.

A few steps away, Major Stanz froze in confusion, and that confusion turned to anger when he heard what Athena said next.

“Tie him up and leave him with the others.”

At that moment, the major snapped. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go! He helped these Imperials! Why would they betray him like this? These…these honorless traitors! He knew he would be a dead man if he was left here. If he was lucky, he would be court-martialed when the 5th Brigade learned what he did. If he wasn’t, he would be shot on the spot.

In a moment of utter fear and anger, the major turned and leaped toward the pile of confiscated sidearms on the other end of the room, only to be hit in the face by one of the three reapers guarding the pile. The punch knocked the man to the floor and was enough to put some sense into the man.

“Just say the word, sir.” The reaper turned to Athena as he pressed his gauss pistols against the major’s chest and head. The eager tone in his voice made Athena’s skin crawl.

“Tie him up.” She simply repeated her previous command. She knew what fate awaited the major, not that she had any sympathy for him. She wouldn’t kill him, but she wouldn’t save him either.

As he was restrained, Major Stanz tried a lot of things. He tried to appeal to Athena and remind her what he could do for the Imperium. When that failed, he begged, hoping Athena would pity him. When even that failed, he began desperately cursing at her until one of the marines had enough and punched him in the face. The blow from the armored fist knocked off several of the man’s teeth and finally shut him up.

As Athena, Adrianna, and the Terran forces left, the other officers in the command center turned to Major Stanz and the handful of officers who backed him up. Colonel Decker might have received his appointment due to nepotism, but he was still a decent leader to serve under.

None of them could do anything now, but once they were freed, they would make sure the colonel’s murderers pay the price.

---

After leaving what was left of Airfield Sigma, Athena headed South, recalling all the Terran units back into the game to make herself a smaller target, not that anyone was really pursuing them. The adjutant was able to help them avoid any Decima unit along the way.

After an hour or so, they came across an abandoned farmstead. Most likely the owners fled as soon as the Imperial dropships started coming down from the sky. Athena and Adrianna, both exhausted, decided to stay in the two-floor house on the farm and get some rest. Athena called in her Terran units to stand guard and make sure no one would sneak up on them when they rested.

Athena had to admit she took a breath of relief when she finally got to remove her power armor and lay down on a sofa she found in the living room.

“The water is still on,” Adrianna said as she emerged from the bathroom on the first floor. “You mind if I shower first?”

“Sure, go for it.”

As the bathroom door closed, Athena closed her eyes. It was a strange feeling. On one hand, she was exhausted and she felt like her brain would shut down the moment she closed her eyes. On the other hand, countless things, big and small, were constantly going through her head.

A lot had happened in the last 24 hours. She went from an Imperial infantry captain to…what was she now? A rebel? A third party? Not that the name mattered. She had used her Terran forces to kill hundreds, and she was well compensated for it. She had unlocked multiple new Terran units and acquired a lot of resources. In fact, she had made more progress in less than a day than she did in six months.

That being said, there were still many challenges waiting for her in the near future. Blending in with the local populace would take some work. They had no identities on this planet, something she would have to find a way to use the adjutant to rectify. Luckily they had some credits. Athena remembered seeing Adrianna going through the wallets of the Decima officers in the command center. Hopefully, that was enough money to last them a while.

After that, they still had to find a way out of this world. It would be quite the work as well.

“Adjutant,” She whispered. “Go through the files you’ve got and look for Decima assets that are likely to unlock the starport. Try to sort them by the level of defenses they have. Click, wake me up in 6 hours if I’m not up by then.”

“Affirmative. Computing now…” There was a pause that lasted a few seconds. “Computation complete. Target 1: Starport Dogma. Target 2…”

There was no response aside from the asleep Athena.

Chapter 31: Monster

Athena woke up to find Adrianna sleeping not far from her, now wearing a new shirt instead of the black Imperial Army uniform. Most likely the shirt came from within this house. Athena stood up and turned to the marine beside her.

“Dash?”

“I’m Click, sir.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Athena tapped her forehead. She could recognize marines through the links she shared with them, but she was feeling a little drowsy. “You guys should really get some paint jobs. I can tell you apart, but no one else can. How long have I been asleep?”

“About 5.5 hours, sir.”

Athena nodded and stood up. It wasn’t much sleep, but she felt a lot better already. She looked out of the window and saw the day was bright already. A day on Sierra Prime was much shorter than one, say, back on Earth. She turned and made her way to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she returned to the living room, having taken a quick shower and changed into a new shirt Adrianna kindly left in the bathroom.

For the next half an hour, Athena chatted with the adjutant and Rum and developed a plan. By the time she was done, Adrianna was awake as well, and she quietly whistled when she saw the shirt Athena was in.

“You like it? I saw it in the closet upstairs and I knew it was gonna look pretty on you!”

“Well, it is a bit tight, but I guess we have bigger problems to worry about.” Athena shrugged.

“I am guessing you didn't get what you wanted from the airfield?” Adrianna asked, remembering Athena’s explanation of the attack on the airfield.

“No. Things are going to be more difficult than I thought.” Athena admitted.

“So what’s the plan now?”

“Our next goal is to head to the Henderson Province.” Athena pulled out her paper map and pointed to the location of the province to Adrianna. “It is around 400 kilometers away from here. The province itself has little strategic value. A large portion of it is just desert. It also happens to be in the opposite direction to the Royal Province where the capital is located relative to the Imperial position. It is of limited value to both the Venya Imperium and the Kingdom of Decima.”

“So why do we want to go there?”

“The Henderson Province is the home to a number of smaller shipyards and a pair of medium shipyards. It may be our way off this world.”

“Huh. I see.” Adrianna nodded. She knew most likely Athena wasn’t talking about taking the ships the shipyards were building and using them to leave. Athena clearly had something else in mind, and Adrianna trusted her to know what she was doing. “But even if the Henderson Province isn’t as defended as, say, the Royal Province, there is guaranteed to be increased security. Dozens of fully armed and armored soldiers…” She glanced at the Terran marines. "They will not be able to get there unnoticed."

“You don’t have to worry about us, lady.” Rum simply shrugged. “We will find our own way there.”

“You and I will be moving on our own.” Athena continued. “We will have to ditch our weapons and armor here too. Two women will seem like a much smaller threat, but I agree we will likely still encounter questioning, which means we need a cover story. “

“And I’m guessing you’ve come up with one already?”

“Of course.” Athena smiled and handed Adrianna a sheet of paper. “Memorize it. That’s our new identity.”

“Let’s see…” Adrianna looked down at the paper. “Refugees fleeing from the Beta Regions. Left in a hurry and our IDs got left behind. Always a good sign…oh, we’re a couple?”

“Well, we obviously don’t look like sisters.” Athena shrugged, a little embarrassed. "We have different hair colors. Different height. Different facial structures. I guess one of us can be adopted, but there is really no point in complicating things."

“Relax. I’m not really complaining.” Adrianna smiled briefly before setting the paper down on the desk. “But even if we say we lost our IDs, they will just be able to check the databases for our names and fingerprints.”

“And they will find matches in the database,” Athena replied confidently.

Before Adrianna woke up, Athena had consulted the adjutant. The adjutant, as the product of the much more advanced Terran civilization, had quite the hacking ability. It might need some time to hack into military networks or databases, but civilian databases often had many more vulnerabilities.

“It seems like you’ve got things all figured out.” Adrianna nodded and stood up. “When are we leaving?”

“As soon as possible.”

---

A day later, Athena and Adrianna found themselves driving down a main road toward the Henderson Province in a four-wheeled SUV. The SUV came from a car rental store dangerously close to where the fighting was going on. The store owner fled already. The clerk left behind casually handed Athena and Adrianna the key to the car and pocketed the credits Adrianna paid her without really counting the amount. Athena suspected that with all the shootings going on, she wasn’t going to be at the store for long either.

It was unlikely Imperial forces would be going around burning down buildings and shooting civilians, but nothing was certain in war. Bullets and missiles didn't distinguish between soldiers and civilians, and there were always soldiers from both sides who might be in the mood for some casual war crime.

After spending a few seconds feeling bad for the store owner, Athena hopped onto the vehicle with Adrianna, and the two headed for their destination. Just in case of trouble, they took a remote road that only appeared on military maps instead of the main provincial highway. How remote? Well, for hours they wouldn't see another car. All they came across were farmlands and, from time to time, small towns and villages. Athena wasn't even worried about potential bandits. If there were bandits counting on finding prey on this road, they would go broke very soon.

Initially, Adrianna said she would drive, and Athena was fine with it. However, as the car began cruising down the remote road where it was the only vehicle present, Athena quickly began regretting the decision.

“Ummm…Adrianna? My love? Why don’t you let the auto-pilot do its thing? It’s there for a reason, right?”

Athena said as the world raced past from outside the window. She glanced at the panel and saw the vehicle was going at 150 kilometers an hour, a number that made her flinch a little. The hardware of cars had improved a lot through the centuries, but human reflexes were more or less the same. If this car crashed into something, the only question would be what her cause of death would be.

“Yeah, sorry.” Adrianna apologized and let go of the pedal so the SUV could slow down. “I have never had a chance to drive like this. You know…for a while, I actually wanted to be a tank driver.”

“Aren’t tanks much slower?”

“Yeah, but if you crash into something in a tank you’ll have a higher chance of survival. If you crash into a tree or something when you’re driving an MSV you’re guaranteed to die.”

“Huh. You seem to have put a lot of thought into surviving crashes.” If it wasn’t for the fact that she was in the car, Athena might smile. She also made a mental note to maybe give Adrianna a gift when she unlocks the siege tank. Hell, Adrianna might even enjoy driving around a hellion or a vulture.

“Well, on a lighter note, it’s refreshing to finally get away from all the explosions.” Adrianna shifted the topic as she took her hands off the steering wheel and stretched her arms in the seat. “You never realize how quiet the world can be until you leave a battlefield.”

“That’s true.” Athena agreed.

That was when they both heard it. Several loud bangs, one after another. The source of the sound was a distance away to the right of the road. Athena turned and glanced in that direction. It was an open field as far as she could see.

“Is that…” Adrianna slowed the vehicle down until it came to a full stop.

“Yes.” Athena sighed. What were the odds? “Gunshots. Sounds like a shotgun.”

“What are we thinking? Imperials?” Adrianna posted the question before quickly answering herself. “Unlikely. Imperial forces rarely use shotguns, and that didn't sound like any of the shotguns they do use. Also, any infiltration team that uses a weapon as loud as a shotgun should be disbanded immediately.”

Athena paused for a second as she received some information from the adjutant. “The Kingdom of Decima allows its citizens to own certain firearms for self-defense purposes. These firearms include shotguns. More likely than not it’s some civilians.”

“Should we go check it out?” Adrianna was not in the mood to go save some civilians from bandits or home intruders, but she still turned to Athena for her opinion.

Before Athena could answer, there were another two shots, followed by an abrupt explosion from the distance. Athena frowned and summoned two roaches under the ground. She had kept the roaches in the game since their movement speed underground was slower than the SUV she was in.

As the roaches moved toward the source of the gunshots and the explosion, Athena turned to Adrianna. “Let’s wait here for a few minutes.”

“As you say, boss.” Adrianna leaned back in her seat before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a slip of paper. Athena glanced at it and saw a PEI number.

“It’s from the girl who rented us this car,”

“Aren’t you the womanizer?” Athena grinned a little.

A minute went by before Athena suddenly sat up straight in her seat. She had received a response from the two roaches, and to say she was concerned would be an understatement. She quickly snapped around to Adrianna, her tone clearly telling her friend she was serious.

“Turn right and head in that direction. Stop when I tell you to.”

---

In the 38th century, many systems would have certain planets designated as agricultural worlds that would supply food to the rest of the system. That being said, many wise governors would still have large pieces of farmlands on their most important worlds. The cost of transporting food across the system was just one thing. There was also a very valid concern about what would happen in the event of a siege. If either the agricultural world or the important world was isolated, hunger alone could topple the strongest fortifications. No amount of defense satellites or anti-ship missiles would work if everyone had starved to death.

There were many pieces of farmland on Sierra Prime as well. The Beta Regions where the Imperial forces landed had many farms. Even the Henderson Province was littered with small towns surrounded by large agricultural grounds.

Tarrin was one such town. It had a population of less than four hundred, with most of them being farmers. It had two taverns that were constantly locked in a heated competition for the few customers that existed in this town, one hotel, and a few small stores. By all accounts, it was normal, and there were countless of these towns on this planet. For the small folks that lived here, war wasn’t really something on their mind. No matter who ruled this planet, they always had to pay hefty taxes.

Unfortunately for the people of Tarrin, their boring life would end one day in a rather horrific way.

“Tarrin.”

Athena whispered the name of the town as she slowly made her way down the road leading to the town. She had gotten off the car a distance away from here and left Adrianna with the vehicle, along with two roaches underground. Adrianna protested, but Athena had made up her mind. None of them had their weapons or armor, and even if they did, Athena doubted Adrianna would do too well against the thing she was moving to confront.

She took another step forward before looking down at the three corpses on the ground near the entrance to the town. A man, a woman, and a teenager. They were all in civilian clothing, and the look of terror on their face was clear as day. All of them were cut in half by what seemed like an incredibly sharp blade.

Athena kept on walking. She entered the town, and on the way, she noticed more bodies. So many more bodies. Everywhere. Women who were gutted in the stores or on the side of the road. Men who were easily cleaved in half despite their size and strength. Even children who were butchered like everyone else.

She kept on walking until she saw the culprit her roaches had noticed.

In the center of the town stood a small figure. She was a little girl. Seven. Maybe eight. But one look at her was enough to tell anyone something was seriously wrong with her. For one thing, her entire body was covered in blood, fresh and dried. The original color of the clothing she was wearing was already impossible to tell. Through the roaches underneath the child, Athena knew the girl had a number of incredibly concerning mutations on her. Sharp, dagger-like claws. Blades on her forearms. A number of unnatural bone protrusions in several places.

The little girl turned around to face Athena, the look of an animal in her eyes. As she did, she casually dropped the object she was chewing on. It was a human arm. Athena caught a gaze at a corpse not far away in a Decima police officer uniform. The corpse was missing an arm.

“What the hell are you…”