Week of 2023/3/20 - SSFF - Chapter 20 - Chapter 22

Chapter 20: The Chaos Sectors

“Are you sure you don’t want to join me and Lucius at Tanya City, sir? As I said before, I know a few good local bars.”

After Athena reiterated that she was uninterested, Adrianna conceded and left Athena’s office alone. Despite not being able to get Athena to join her, Adrianna still had a smile on her face as she walked. She had the next four hours to herself, and she was going to spend every second of it enjoying life as much as she could. It was one of her few comforts in this world.

Tanya City was a lot of things. It was a major manufacturing center. It was the home of the headquarters of a number of companies local to the world. At the same time, it was also the city closest to four different Imperial Army military bases that often housed entire divisions of the Imperial Army. One of these bases was Fort 127, the current home to the 329th Infantry Division.

It was common to see officers of the Imperial Army going in and out of the expensive local bars and gentlemen’s clubs, spending their hard-earned salaries on drinks and women.

Incidentally, the municipal government of Tanya City also had extremely high taxes for these businesses. As a result, most of the salaries paid to the officers would end up in the treasuries of the local Imperial government quite quickly.

As Adrianna left the room, Athena turned her attention to something much more important to her than drinks and women. There, projected into the middle of the room in front of her, was a 3D map of the galaxy.

There was a large portion of the map that was highlighted in red while another portion of the map, much larger in size, was highlighted in blue. The red represented territories of the Venya Imperium and the blue stood for the space that belonged to the United Republic of Dorn.

The Republic was much larger than the Imperium, and in most cases, more territories meant more resources, population, and manufacturing capabilities. This was a widely known fact that the Imperial government acknowledged, but at the same time, the Imperials also claimed that the Republic was a weak and corrupt government that didn't deserve its massive territories and living space. It was only right for the stronger Imperium to seize the planets that belonged to the Republic and liberate its populations.

Athena would be an idiot if she believed everything she was told by the propaganda. The Republic marines back in Outpost Delta might not be a good representation of the average Republic soldiers, but they still made it clear the Republic was hardly a pushover. Perhaps the Republic was weak and corrupt, but the fact it existed to this day after centuries of conflict with many nations in the galaxy meant it wasn’t as vulnerable as the Imperium claimed.

In fact, not long ago, the Venya Imperium and the United Republic of Dorn signed a ceasefire agreement. The Venya government never really explained the reasoning to the people, but there would be no need for such an agreement if the Imperium could easily crush the Republic. As for how effective the ceasefire was or how long it might last…just look at the battle between the Republic and the Imperium on Morgo IV. Neither side let this agreement stop them from attacking the other. If any side wanted to resume full-scale fighting, Athena highly doubted this agreement would stop them.

From her perspective, neither the Imperium nor the Republic was the ideal place to go and try to expand her forces. The chances of getting caught while operating in the space of either nation were just too great, and at this point, she had no ability to challenge the strength of a nation with dozens of sectors and at least trillions of people.

She needed the protection of chaos. She needed to find a place where no one would bat an eye at a private army or some bloody conflicts.

It just so happened that she knew just the place.

There was a portion of purple color on the map right between the border of three blocks of color. The red of the Venya Imperium. The blue of the United Republic of Dorn. Finally, the yellow of the Salin Empire. This purple region was an area that included 9 sectors that, collectively, were known as the Chaos Sectors.

The Chaos Sectors were the product of centuries of war between three major superpowers in the galaxy. The Imperium, the Republic, and the Empire had been at war with each other for most of the last two hundred years, and the people of the Chaos Sectors were always caught in between. This was their curse, but this was also their blessing.

Individually, the nations in the Chaos Sectors, the most powerful of whom only controlled a handful of systems, were no match for the full might of any one of the three major powers. However, it was often quite difficult for any major power to attack a nation in the Chaos Sectors for an interesting reason.

If, say, the Imperium tried to take over a nation in the Chaos Sectors, the nation would likely call for help from the Republic or the Empire. It wouldn’t take long before the Imperial forces find themselves fighting an expensive war in foreign space, against a powerful enemy supplied and reinforced by the locals.

Even if they were to win, then what? The Chaos Sectors have never belonged to the Imperium. They would have trouble holding territories whose population saw them as foreign invaders, which they were. There would be insurgencies, and the Imperium would be forced to ship troops and assets from their own planets across countless lightyears to put down the insurgents, who would likely be backed by both the local population and enemy nations.

How long would it take before the population finally considered themselves Imperials? How many resources would need to be deployed and spent during this process? Would the manpower and industrial output from the world really be worth the cost?

This was the same problem the Imperium faced when it came to occupying planets in the Republic or the Empire. The borders of the three factions have more or less been the same for the last decades. Many planets have never known anything other than the rule of their own nations.

Military occupation was good, and enough brutalities might be enough to maintain temporary control. However, as long as the Republic or the Empire still existed to support the rebels and give them hope, there would always be resistance.

When it came to matters like this, the Imperium was smart. With most conquered Republic territories, the Imperium would often create puppet client states to maintain an illusion of freedom. Of course, this was just a step in the greater Imperial strategy. The people of client states would gradually find their rights stripped away piece by piece. Imperial culture and propaganda would gradually take over the minds of the next generation. Imperial rule of law would get rid of any troublemakers. Eventually, after a few decades, the local populations would think of themselves as members of the Imperium, and the Venya Imperium would gladly welcome the client state into its domain.

With nations in the Chaos Sectors, the Imperium preferred to make alliances with local governments instead of simply replacing them with their own governors. Compared to client states, these nations would have a lot more power and influence.

Still, most nations in the Chaos Sectors were often quite weak. The lack of resources was just one issue. The three major powers also didn't want a nation to unite the Chaos Sectors and become another threat, and they have all taken measures to prevent this from happening.

With this weakness came the lack of control. Many planets and systems in the sectors become home to unsavory characters from all over the galaxy who had nowhere else to go.

This included nobles from empires all over the galaxy who lost political struggles and had to go into exile with whatever personal forces they had left. This included powerful corporations and their security forces who wanted space to work in without being observed by their governments. This included various terrorists and revolutionary groups. This included mercenaries and pirates, many of whom wore whichever hat could get them the most wealth with the least amount of risks. This included narcotics cartels who used the Chaos Sectors for manufacturing and transportation. Merchant ships would often travel through the Chaos Sectors to cut some distance and save time. Many of them, wisely, had sizeable escort fleets.

The Imperium was fine with letting its people know about the Chaos Sectors. In the words of the local Imperial propaganda department, the chaos and lawlessness in the Chaos Sectors were the consequences of having weak, incompetent governments too soft to do what had to be done to reinstall law and order. Propagandists would often tell the people stories of atrocities committed by the worst factions in the Chaos Sectors to show the Imperial citizens how fortunate they were to be under Imperial protection. The Imperium might have a lot of rules, but they offered ample security in return.

In a sense, they were right. For all its sins, the Imperium had always been extremely tough on crimes. The things they would do to the sentenced murderers, rapists, and cartel members often instilled fear in the most toughened criminals.

Athena tapped her chin thoughtfully as she sat down on a sofa in her office. The Chaos Sectors followed the law of the jungle. In those sectors, name and family background meant nothing. Education and titles meant little. The only relevant thing was strength.

For most people, this made the Chaos Sectors hell. For warlords and pirates, this made the Chaos Sectors a dangerous place with a lot of opportunities. They might lose everything, but they might also get everything.

For her, the Chaos Sectors was heaven. It was a place where she could use her Starcraft units to their full strength without worrying about being smashed by the full might of the Imperium. It was perfect.

Using the Zerg units would raise a lot of attention even if she was in the Chaos Sectors. Luckily, her Terran forces likely wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. Sure, their technologies were quite advanced, but it would be difficult for anyone to really investigate. Plus, given the lack of population and control, it would be much easier for her to tie up loose ends if needed.

With her Terran forces, she would also be able to take over local factions and perhaps install her own trusted Terrans as leaders. Hopefully, captured human technologies would help her unlock more Terran structures and allow her to build more supplies of Terran.

There were risks and problems, of course. For one thing, the Chaos Sectors were a distance away, and she wasn’t too sure how she would get there. In fact, she couldn't even smuggle her way off this world without taking a ridiculous amount of risk. Without that, all her plans would become meaningless.

Unbeknownst to her, an opportunity would soon present itself in the form of yet another bloody conflict.

---

At the same time as Athena was staring at a map of the galaxy and wondering what her future might hold, trouble was growing in a star system in the Chaos Sectors countless lightyears away.

The Kingdom of Decima had ruled the Sierra System for the last 70 years. For seven decades, the golden banner of the Decima lioness had flown over the skies of the 12 inhabitable planets in the star system.

Throughout most of its existence, the Kingdom of Decima allied itself with the Venya Imperium, not really out of choice but rather out of the lack of it. The kingdom was located much closer to Imperial Sector 9A2 than to any Republic territory. An Imperial fleet could descend upon the star system in a fraction of the time it would take for a Republic fleet to do so. Given that information, it would be quite foolish for the kingdom to side with the Republic.

Even though the agreement the kingdom entered into was that of an alliance, the reality was that the Kingdom of Decima was more like a client state to the Venya Imperium than an ally. It had to pay a sizeable amount of money to the Imperium every year. It was required to allow Imperial fleets to pass through its system unharassed and with no questions asked, and during times of war, the forces of Decima were required to aid the Imperial cause.

Still, for seven decades, there was peace. There had been wars between the Imperium and the Republic in the Chaos Sectors, but the Kingdom of Decima had rarely come under attack. The Imperium was often the more aggressive side, and Republic counteroffensives often went straight for Imperial territories instead of trying to go through the Chaos Sectors.

Granted, the peace they had was an expensive peace, but it was peace nonetheless.

This peace was shattered when one day, the old king, Decima the Wise, mysteriously died in his sleep. Before his son Decimus I, the Imperial-aligned heir to the throne, could become the new king, his younger brother Decimus II suddenly presented to the entire kingdom evidence of his older brother being the culprit behind their father’s death. He accused Decimus I of poisoning their father. As such, in the words of the younger brother, Decimus I should be stripped of all ranks and titles and sentenced to death.

Almost immediately, multiple high-ranking government officials in the Kingdom of Decima announced that they have verified the authenticity of the evidence and called for the arrest of Decimus I. Once again, acting uncharacteristically quickly and decisively, the Decima Royal Guard stormed the palace of Decimus I. All in the name of vengeance for their king.

The battle ended in less than an hour as the surprised palace guards were overwhelmed, but by the time the Decima Royal Guard breached their prince’s chamber, Decimus I was nowhere to be seen. He had escaped the betrayal via a secret underground tunnel. Within days, he had fled the Kingdom of Decima and escaped to Sector 9A2 of the Venya Imperium.

Now the rightful heir by elimination, Decimus II quickly ascended to the throne of the Kingdom of Decima, taking on the new name of Decimus the Just.

It was unsurprising that this military coup led to quite the reaction from the Imperium. Many important people in Sector 9A2 were quite concerned. Decimus II had always been a known rebel in the royal family. Against the wishes of his Imperium-aligned father and older brother, Decimus II had journeyed to the Republic and spent several years there. It was almost certain the United Republic of Dorn was behind his coup, and its support was what made the operation so successful.

Did Decimus I really kill his father? Unlikely, not that it mattered. The fact was that Decimus II was likely aligned with the Republic. If the Kingdom of Decima was turned to the side of the Republic, the Republic would have a good staging ground from which to attack the Imperium. In the same way that the Imperium could reach System Sierra quite quickly, a Republic fleet stationed at the system could also strike worlds of Sector 9A2 with ease.

In the end, for the security of the Imperium, and also themselves, Lord Vitz and his high-ranking officials came to a simple decision. They would launch a military invasion into the Kingdom of Decima, get rid of the illegitimate king that was Decimus II, and put the rightful heir Decimus I back on the throne.

This wouldn’t be a war of invasion. This would be a war of liberation. The Imperium hoped this meant the population of the Kingdom of Decima would see the Imperials as friends rather than enemies.

Lord Vitz was aware that this attack might lead to another full-scale war with the Republic, but it was decided that it was better to go to war now than to allow the Republic to strengthen its grip on the Sierra System. They couldn’t afford to lose the Kingdom of Decima, and the longer they waited, the more time their enemies had to build up the defenses and bolster their numbers.

Soon, countless orders were passed down the chain of command throughout the sector. War fleets of the Imperial Navy were assembled. Unlike the squadron of three light cruisers that Instigator Kendrick summoned, these fleets belonged to Battlefleet Silver Lance. They were the elite of the elite, known for taking on their counterparts in the Republic and the Empire and frequently emerging victorious. They were the expensive yet effective blades of Lord Anton Vitz, and they were out for blood.

At the same time, Imperial Army units were mobilized throughout the sector. Fleets could reduce worlds to ashes, but only armies could conquer and hold planets. When the missiles of warships couldn’t wipe the enemies off the face of the planet, it was up to the expendable grunts on the ground to flush the enemies out and grind them into dust.

Thousands of Imperial Army divisions were mobilized throughout the sector, and among them was one 329th Infantry Division from the planet of 9A2-C-8.

Chapter 21: Siege of Sierra Prime

One standard month after the coronation of Decimus II, the Venya Imperium publicly accused him of murdering his father, declared him a usurper, and demanded that he surrender to his older brother, the true king of Decima. When Decimus II, unsurprisingly, refused, Lord Vitz declared war on the Kingdom of Decima on behalf of the Venya Imperium.

This declaration might seem trivial, but it was necessary. The Imperium had to convince the people of the Kingdom of Decima that they were the good guys. The liberators. They weren’t invading the Kingdom of Decima. They were saving it.

At the same time, Decimus I established a new government on a minor moon in the Sierra System and called upon all loyal Decima forces to join him in the fight against the usurper. With the backing of the Imperium, he promised pardons and promotions to any and all military and civil leaders who pledged themselves and their assets to him.

Following the declaration of war, a portion of Battlefleet Silver Lance, consisting of 14 Lesser Fleets, launched a full-scale invasion into the Sierra System and started attacking planets that remained loyal to Decimus II. Multiple armadas of the Royal Decima Navy, many of whom were funded by the Imperium and trained by officers from the Imperial Navy, moved to repel the invasion at the command of their new king. Perhaps they were simply serving the kingdom they swore their allegiance to. Perhaps they were bribed by their new king with wealth and titles. None of that mattered anymore as the guns started blazing.

Over the span of the next month, countless ships burned as the two fleets clashed in a hundred different battlefields across the system. Ultimately, the Royal Decima Navy was pushed back. They were simply no match for the experience and numbers of the Imperial Navy.

During this time, many ships were destroyed while others defected to the side of the Imperium and Decima I. Any captains, commodores, and admirals that defected were immediately heavily rewarded for their decisions. Their long-term fate might still be up in the air, but as of now, the Imperials had to use them to show Imperial mercy and generosity.

As the armadas retreated, world after world came under assault by divisions of the Imperial Army. Some defenders surrendered. Others resisted until the end. A small number of loyalists to the pro-Republic regime blended into the local populations with the goal of fighting guerilla warfare against the Imperial forces. The last group was extremely limited in numbers. After all, most Decima citizens and soldiers had no issue with the same Imperium they had been allies with for the last 70 years.

Each world retaken by the Imperium was handed to the Imperium-backed government led by Decimus I. Of course, the Imperial forces still occupied and garrisoned the place, but the Imperial leaders made sure that their troops wouldn’t alienate the locals. Any soldiers who harmed the lives or properties of Decima citizens were severely and publicly punished. Lord Vitz wasn't going to let the lust and greed of some of his troops ruin his goal of one day truly conquering the Sierra System for the Venya Imperium.

Within six months of the initial declaration of war, the Imperial forces had reached the world of Sierra Prime, the capital world of the Kingdom of Decima. The young pro-Republic king had pulled all his remaining loyal forces back to the planet for a desperate final stand. At the same time, the Imperial commander of this war theater, Vice Admiral Thea, had also gathered her fleets and armies to this world. Her forces were bolstered by elements of the Decima Royal Navy and the Decima Royal Legion that had defected to the side of the Decimus I.

The siege of Sierra Prime would be a difficult, costly campaign. Vice Admiral Thea was aware of this, but she also knew victory of this campaign would mark the end of this war. Even if Decimus II managed to escape, he would have lost whatever remaining military assets he had up until now. The threat he posed would be no more, and once again the 12 worlds of the Kingdom of Decima would serve the Imperial cause.

As the Imperial fleet advanced toward the surface of the planet, Imperial assets on the planet were already on the move. Multiple loyalists to the pro-Republic regime were assassinated by snipers, poison, bombs, and in the case of a senior commander of the Decima Royal Guard, an ambush that involved three dozen gunmen and heavy weapons right outside the Decima Guard Command building. Almost all assassins on that mission were slain, but so was the senior commander. Overall, a worthy trade for the Imperials.

These were the works of alpha execution teams from the Imperial Intelligence Agency. The IIA had established a presence in the Kingdom of Decima over the past decades. It might have failed to stop Decimus II’s coup, but that didn't mean it was weak or powerless in this system.

At the same time, multiple Decima artillery positions, airfields, and command centers came under heavy assault. This time, the culprit was units of the Imperial Special Forces that have infiltrated the planet over the last few months. These units were a lot more straightforward than the IIA execution teams as they did their best to destroy any military targets that could pose a threat to the main offensive. Given how common these tactics were, their presence was anticipated by the defenders and their achievements were limited before they were forced to retreat and regroup, but some damage was always better than none. Even the smallest advantage could snowball into a victory for the Imperials.

Even within the ranks of the Decima defenders, from the common troopers to the commanders and officials at the highest level, many found themselves with rather treacherous thoughts. It was obvious they were losing, and did they really want to be on the losing side? Perhaps it wasn’t too late to switch their allegiances and join the victorious side after all.

In the planet’s orbit, as the main Imperial fleet engaged the planet’s orbital defenses and the remaining ships of the Royal Decima Navy, a smaller fleet of transports and combat dropships, coupled with a sizable escort, prepared to land on the planet.

And thus began the Siege of Sierra Prime.

---

The hulls of the Sabertooth class combat dropship rattled around her, and Athena did her best to remain calm. After all, she reminded herself, if a missile managed to get past the dropship’s shield and rip the ship into pieces, there would be nothing she could do. She might as well stay relaxed. This way, even if she was to die, her last moments would be as peaceful as they could be.

She scanned the dozen or so other men in the dropship. All of them, like her, were armed and armored. Thanks to their open face shields, she could tell most of them were as anxious as she was.

Over the last six months she spent as the captain of the 437th Company, she had grown to know these men quite well. Four of them were her personal bodyguards. The others were men of the 1st platoon.

“So, captain!” A young woman with short hair sitting to Athena’s right turned to Athena. She was Alex, one of Athena’s four bodyguards, a veteran of seven years, and a talented sniper. Athena had come to learn that the woman was quite chatty, especially after she learned Athena didn't mind that. “Have you ever wondered why this asshole decided to kill his father and frame his brother? I mean…he has to know this is stupid, right?”

“Who knows what is going on in the head of filthy traitors?” Sato, another one of Athena’s bodyguards who was sitting in front of Alex, replied with a scoff. “I heard this idiot chose to attend a school in the Republic! Who knows what poison they fed him there? It is no wonder he is doing something so honorless and foolish.”

“It doesn’t take a genius to know his kingdom alone is no match for the Imperium!” Alex countered. “I mean…why would he do something like this? All he managed to accomplish was getting many of his people, and our people, killed in this stupid, meaningless war!”

Alex was angry, and rightfully so. After all, she might end up as one of the casualties of this war. In fact, judging by how things were, this might be quite likely.

Athena tapped her chin thoughtfully with her armor finger. This was a question she had wondered about a number of times, and she believed she had an answer.

“Most likely this Decimus II was given a promise by the Republic.” She said quietly. “Maybe the Republic promised him military aid. After the coup went down and no help came, it was already too late for him to turn back. He had no choice but to fight and hope the Imperium would make a mistake.”

“Ha! Of course the Republic would break their promise!” Sato scoffed. “That’s what you get for trusting a nation as corrupt as the Republic!”

Athena glanced at him but didn't say anything. On her other side, Adrianna let out a scoff as well, but the scoff was directed at Sato.

“Do you really think this is good for the Imperium?”

“What?”

“The Republic broke their promise because they already got what they wanted.” Adrianna gave voice to something Athena already realized a while ago. “The Kingdom of Decima used to be a loyal ally of the Venya Imperium. Now we’re at each other’s throats. How many ships have burned in this war? How many men have died? This is a war between brothers, and the entire time the Republic never even had to get their hands bloody.”

“Well…” Sato gulped. He had never thought of this before. As the dropship shook again, the man did his best to come up with a rebuttal, and he found one. “At least after what happened here, no one would trust the Republic again. They have lost whatever credibility they had left.”

“Have they? It’s just an educated guess that a promise was made by the Republic. The only one who can prove it is Decimus II, and I doubt he would want to burn the bridge with the Republic.” Adrianna shrugged. “It doesn’t matter to us anyway. Our job is to survive the next 24 hours, not think about the long-term impact of this war. I am sure there are people much smarter than us on that.”

Athena bit her lips. She knew Adrianna was right. After all, they were attacking the capital world of the Kingdom of Decima and perhaps the most heavily defended place in the systems. Even worse, they, along with the rest of the 329th Infantry Division, were a part of the first wave.

If she had an option to not be here, she would’ve taken that option without a second thought. The vanguards were always the ones with the heaviest casualties. Unfortunately for her, while her colonel had the luxury of staying aboard a Raven class command ship, she had to head toward the planet’s surface alongside her company. Any attempt to say no would be desertion and would end with a bullet in her head.

Of course, if she was willing to use her Starcraft units, a bullet likely wouldn’t be her cause of death. It would likely be explosives or missiles. There was no way she and a handful of Zerg and Terran units could take over the transport ship she was in and somehow escape from the middle of an Imperial fleet.

So in the end, she decided to take her chances. This battle would come with its fair share of risks, and with risks came opportunities. She didn't have any chance to escape while she was in a fort or aboard a transport ship. This might be her best chance of escaping her life as an Imperial captain.

There was another explosion, and it was close.

“Didn't get past the shields,” Alex whispered, having been in enough similar situations to make an educated guess on what that was. Even so, there was little relief in her voice.

Athena frowned as well. That explosion wasn’t the only one. She could hear many more of them, some closer and louder than others. She couldn’t see what was going on outside, but obviously, the defenders were putting up a good fight.

As far as Athena knew, the first wave of landing forces had a simple goal in mind: to establish several landing zones on the planet’s surface. These landing zones would allow heavier Imperial transports to land safely and deploy more reinforcements, including armored, aerial, and artillery units. After that, using these locations and air support from the Imperial Navy, the Imperial forces would gradually advance on Decima positions and neutralize the defenders.

Obviously, the vanguard had a lot of responsibilities. They would come under the heaviest fire from the defenders, and if things went wrong, retreat might be all but impossible. Even if they could get to the planet’s surface as planned, they had to hope the Imperial bombers and missiles had softened the enemy position there enough. Otherwise, light infantry units from dropships would be massacred by Decima armored units.

There was another wave of explosions, and Athena bit her lips once again. She was afraid. There was no shame in admitting it. Still, she did her best to maintain her composure.

She looked around the troops in the dropship once again. Sato had his eyes closed, and Athena spotted an earpiece in his left ear. Knowing the man, he was likely listening to the music of Q, an all-female music band on 9A2-C-8 that he was a huge fan of.

Sitting beside him was Lucius, the last of her four bodyguards. The man had been in the Army for 12 years, and somehow he was still a simple trooper. By the looks of it, he was perfectly content with that. Out of all her bodyguards Athena disliked Lucius the most. He might not praise the Imperium as much as Sato, but there was no doubt in his loyalty to the Imperium and his hatred toward its enemies. Athena had read his files, and she knew what Lucius did to captured enemies of the Imperium even when he was explicitly ordered to keep his hands off these prisoners.

On her two sides were Alex and Adrianna. Both women, like her, were doing their best to remain calm. Alex seemed to be whispering something to herself. Adrianna, on the other hand, was looking up at the ceiling of the dropship.

“I really do need a drink.” She suddenly declared.

Athena let out a small smile just before another explosion hit the dropship. This time, the shields didn't hold.

Chapter 22: Rough Landing

“Shit!”

Alex cursed loudly as the Sabertooth shook even more violently than before. There was the sound of metal cracking, something the passengers of the dropship absolutely didn't want to hear. Luckily, the dropship remained intact for now.

Before Athena could take a breath of relief, the dropship suddenly began descending at a much more rapid speed than before.

“We are going down!” The voice of one of the pilots called out from the intercom. “Brace for impact!”

This time Athena almost wanted to join Alex in swearing.

Even as the dropship was going down, there was a voice calling out in the comms in her armor. It belonged to Sergeant Gregor, one of the platoon leaders in her company and one of the nicer sergeants in the unit.

“We have been hit! We are…”

And then the voice abruptly disappeared.

Perhaps there was an interruption in the comms, but given Athena could still hear the others, the more likely possibility was that the sergeant, and everyone on his dropship, were gone. 15 men and 2 pilots, most of whom had gone through years of training and fighting. Dead in seconds.

Before Athena could even react, her entire body suddenly jerked forward violently as the Sabertooth she was in finally made contact with the ground.  It seemed like the pilots did a good job after all. The dropship didn't disintegrate in midair or hit the ground and explode. Instead, it landed. A rough landing, but a landing nonetheless.

As the dropship came to a stop, Athena coughed. Even with the protection of the armor, the anticipated impact still tossed her body forward against the leather safety belt. Luckily for her, the belt kept her body from flying forward and hitting Sato on the other side of the dropship. She was a little disoriented, but she was alive.

A fresh recruit might freeze in her seat for a few minutes and thank the gods, but Athena knew all too well that she was hardly safe yet. Without wasting another second, she turned in the direction of the cockpit.

“Pilots! Is it safe to exit? Pilots! Talk to me!”

There was no response. Perhaps the intercom system had been broken by the impact. Perhaps it was the pilots who were damaged. Regardless, Athena wasn’t going to stay in this dropship and wait to see what would happen. They were sitting ducks in here.

“Get up!” She yelled at the others on the ship, many of whom were even more disoriented than her. Even as she spoke, she was removing the safety belt holding her in her seat. “Get off this ship!”

She quickly made her way to the rear door of the dropship. After a few seconds of work, the door opened, and Athena, with her rifle in her hand, was the first to get off the dropship.

As soon as she was out, Athena carefully scanned the surroundings for any threats. There was none. It seemed like they had landed quite far away from the main battlefields. The staging ground they were heading to, Section Lemma, was supposed to be an open field that could allow multiple Imperial transport ships to land and deploy reinforcements. Instead, right now they were in the middle of what seemed like…a farm?

“Where are we?” Adrianna was equally confused as she got off the dropship and saw the same thing Athena did. “I don’t think the GPS systems are up yet.”

“Let’s hope the pilots know where the hell they took us.” Athena turned to one of the troopers and pointed at the cockpit which was in a different part than the troop compartment. “Go see if the pilots are alive! If so, get them out!”

“Yes sir!”

One by one, the troops got off the dropship. Sato jumped off, followed by Alex and Lucius. As soon as he got off, Sato looked around before taking a number of steps away from the dropship and lifting his binoculars. He looked into the distance before pointing something out to Athena.

“Sir! There seem to be intense firefights in these two directions.”

Athena made her way to Sato. The farm seemed to be built on high ground and allowed them quite the view. She frowned and took out a pair of binoculars of her own from a storage box in her armor and looked in that direction.

There were gunfire and explosions everywhere, but it was obvious the firefights in those two directions were the most intense. In one of the locations, Athena could distinctly see a large number of what looked like Imperial dropships heading for the ground. There were bright explosions going off all around the dropships.

“Is that Section Omega?” She realized and then turned to the left and looked. “Ok…that is Section Lemma. it seems like we are 20 kilometers away from where we should be, and if Section Omega is in that direction…the pilots must have deviated from our original path when evading the attacks and making the landing.”

Honestly, despite the frown on her face, Athena was thrilled this was what happened. Just because Imperial forces made their way to the ground didn't mean they were safe. Even if the Decima forces didn't know where the landing points would be before, they would immediately deploy their armored and air units as soon as that became clear in an attempt to chase the Imperial forces off the planet. If she ended up at one of the landing points, her life would be under serious threat.

As of now, she was in the middle of nowhere, and it seemed like she was safe…

Almost immediately, a loud explosion went off from behind Athena. Athena felt something hitting her back, but luckily her armor wasn’t breached. The Indominated class also protected her hearing from the close blast. She snapped around and realized that her fears were justified after all. The Sabertooth dropship, after surviving this long, had finally exploded. Most likely its fuel tank was breached, and something managed to set it off.

“Shit!” Sato took a few steps toward the burning dropship before pausing. They had nothing to put out the fire, not that it would matter much.

“Who was still inside the ship?” Athena raised her voice. She looked around. Adrianna and Alex were both by her side and were unharmed. So was Sato. Lucius was a bit closer, but he wasn’t harmed either. “Lucius?”

“I think there were six men inside. They took too long with their weapons. Most of them were heavy weapon specialists.” Lucius looked around at the survivors before turning in the direction of the cockpit. “Private Li was close to the cockpit. I don’t think he or the two pilots made it.”

Alex took a few steps closer to the cockpit before sighing. “Nope. They didn't make it.”

Athena frowned. Seven dead. Eight left, including her and her four bodyguards. It was unfortunate, but there was little she could do about that. She turned around and tapped her earpiece.

“This is Captain Athena Dane of the 437th Company. Can anyone hear me?”

“Athena, I don’t think the comms are working,” Adrianna explained. She had been trying to contact the other units. “Maybe we’re just too far from the others. Maybe the Decima forces are disrupting our comms.”

“I guess bad news never come alone.” Athena sighed before quickly making up a decision. “We can’t stay here. We’re too exposed here and the Decima forces may come looking for us.”

She glanced at a building around 400 steps away from her. It looked like a barn, and it was likely occupied. If so she doubted the people inside didn't notice the dropship, especially after the explosion. She and the others could try to get them in time and hope no one from the Decima forces noticed the dropship and the explosion, but a much safer option would be to leave as soon as possible. Wasting even another minute here could mean running into a squad or a platoon of Decima soldiers.

“We should head for Section Lemma at once, sir.” Lucius suddenly suggested. “We need to group up with the others and rejoin the fight.”

Athena glanced at Lucius. A small smile climbed onto her face.

She had grown to know the people around her in the last few months. Lucius was likely one of the most loyal soldiers here. Adrianna’s love for the Imperium was nearly nonexistent. Alex wasn’t exactly loyal either. From what Athena learned, Alex joined the Imperial Army so she could send money back to her younger sisters back home and allow them to go to good schools and have a good life. Sato, despite his frequent praise of the Imperium, only joined the Army because he believed it would please his father. It didn't, but the Army wasn't something he could just back out of.

She didn't know the other troops well, but most likely none of them was as suicidal as Lucius. When it was obvious that Section Lemma was a slaughterhouse, any sane person would use this opportunity and stay away from there as long as possible. Only a real zealot to the Imperial cause like Lucius would be so eager to march toward a heavily defended enemy position with a handful of troops.

Usually, Athena would find herself in a difficult situation when dealing with loyalists like Lucius. She would have to put up an act, something she had done so many times before in the past months. Luckily for her, this time, things were a little different.

They were no longer on an Imperial planet where everything she did would be heavily monitored and she had no choice but to hide her Starcraft units. No…they were on a large, heavily-contested planet. One where both factions on it had their hands full with trying to kill each other. One where a handful of men and units would be a drop of water in the ocean.

“Very well.” She nodded at Lucius before pointing at the surroundings. “We will be too exposed if we head to Section Lemma directly. The Decima forces are likely converging on that location as well. It will be safer if we reach the forests there first and then circle around.”

---

Athena’s decision to move through the forest might have cost the squad of eight a little more time, but it soon became clear that this was a small price to pay. Minutes after the eight Imperial soldiers went on the move, they spotted a pair of Decima Overwatch class gunships approaching rapidly from behind. It seemed like they had reached the farm where their dropship first crash-landed and noticed the survivors on their scanners. Not content with letting a single invader go free, these Decima soldiers decided to hunt the Imperials down to the last.

Luckily, by the time the gunships approached, the squad had already reached the cover of the dense forest. The terrain prevented the gunships from pursuing.

Even so, the Imperials had little time to relax. Before they could take a break, they realized the Decima troops weren’t done with them yet. An unspecified number of Decima infantry soldiers had entered the forest and were tracking them, forcing the Imperials to get back on the move.

“How many of them are there?” Alex wondered as the squad of eight soldiers moved through the forest as quickly as their power armor could carry them.

“Too much for us to handle,” Adrianna simply replied.

“We should stand and fight now,” Lucius argued. He only wanted to fight and die for the Imperium. It didn't matter whether he did so here in the forest or at Section Lemma. “Bring as many of them down with us as possible!”

Athena glanced at Lucius. Now would be the perfect time for her to unleash her Terran forces. The only question was what would happen to the survivors in her squad. She wouldn’t feel too bad about killing some of the common soldiers in her squad. Lucius could die as well for all she cared. But Sato and Alex…they had been working together for months, and they had served her well. She wouldn’t trust them enough to let them in on her secret, but she hesitated to just betray and eliminate them.

Thankfully, she already had an idea, and the encroaching Decima forces gave her the perfect opportunity to slip away.

“Listen up men, here’s what’s gonna happen.” She suddenly declared. “Adrianna and I will stay behind and slow them down. Sato, I want you to take the others to Section Lemma and do whatever you can to help our forces there.”

“We can stay too, sir!” Sato protested. As Athena’s bodyguard, he wasn’t just going to let his captain sacrifice herself to save him. It should be the other way around.

“Once the shooting starts eight people wouldn’t last much longer than two. Go! You will achieve more at Section Lemma!” Athena insisted. Whether that was true was honestly anyone’s guess, but it was a good excuse. ”That’s an order! Do it!”

“I can also stay with you, sir!” Lucius protested. He was truly willing to die for the Imperium. If the old Athena was in his position, she would likely act similarly.

“Go!” Athena simply insisted.

The other members of the squad looked at each other, but they all knew there was no time to hesitate. Lucius, Sato, and Alex gave Athena a final respectful look before turning and leaving. Most captains were fine with sending their men to die, but few would sacrifice themselves to protect their troops. Of course, according to Imperial propaganda, this willingness for self-sacrifice was something every Imperial officer, soldier, and civilian alike should strive for. Athena's self-sacrifice wasn't too out of character given the act she had maintained in front of the others ever since she returned to Fort 127.

Without knowing her true motives, what was left of Athena’s squad saw her as a true hero of the Imperium.

Athena turned back to Adrianna. She had specifically wanted Adrianna to stay because she was the only person Athena truly trusted. Even now, without knowing what Athena was planning to do, Adrianna didn't question the order that, as far as she could see, would lead to her death. She stayed, not because she loved the Imperium, but because Athena was staying.

“I told you I awed my life to you after what happened in Outpost Delta.” The redhead simply stated as she readied her weapons. “Guess it’s time I give it back.”

Athena stared at Adrianna in silence for a few seconds. She had to admit she was moved. Many of her men had promised to give their lives at her command, but how many would truly do it when required?

“As a matter of fact,” Athena said quietly as she prepared to finally summon the Starcraft units into battle again after so many months of being forced to hide them. “That will not be necessary.”