Week of 2022/12/26 - SSFF - Chapter 39 - 41

Chapter 39: House Thea

Commodore Thea sighed as she left an electronic signature under another report sent to her by one of her subordinate commanders. This one was about one of the many rebellious groups still active at Diego Secondary.

After the main Republic garrison force was defeated, a significant number of the troops hid in the planet’s sizeable local population and, joined by many disgruntled civilians, started waging asymmetrical war against the Imperial occupiers. They have been causing a lot of trouble, including assassinating patrols and blowing up storage warehouses. Luckily, as the Imperials solidified their grip on the world, these groups have been rooted out one by one.

With her signature down, she pressed a few keys and sent the report to the communication department of the fleet. This report, like the hundreds before it, would be encrypted and sent back to the Sector High Command. She doubted anyone important would read it, but that didn't make her job any different.

Interestingly, as the head of an entire star system, she was spending a lot more time reading reports and attending meetings than actually leading any military engagements. Having come from a family of naval commanders, Commodore Thea knew this would be the case going in. Still, she had to admit she would often get quite bored with her job.

Before starting the next report, the commodore stood up and made her way to the window. She could see the armada out there in the orbit of Diego Prime. Her armada. The 195th Silver Lance Fleet. It was a fleet powerful enough to seize planets and systems alike. If she wished, she could end the lives of billions. It was a level of power few in the galaxy had, but for the commodore, it was her birthright.

For her name was Laura Thea, and she was a daughter of House Thea, Minor House of the Venya Imperium and a major force in Battlefleet Silver Lance.

The commodore turned and sat down back in her seat. She opened another report and realized what it was about as soon as she saw the title and the author. The author was Commander Arthur Liam, and the topic was the mysterious group of fighters that appeared on Diego Nine and attacked the local garrison for unknown reasons. A group with weapons and equipment that were just a little too advanced.

She remembered receiving samples of their weapons and equipment from the 329th Infantry Division. Samples that she had sent back to Sector 9A2 to be studied.

She spent ten minutes going through the report, and when she was done, she wasn’t too happy. It seemed like Commodore Liam’s fleet was able to destroy the group’s base in the valley and kill all members of the group. This came at the cost of losing one Calypso-class light cruiser, shot down by two squadrons of fighters this group had been hiding.

The loss of the light cruiser made Commodore Thea frown a little, but what annoyed her even more was the lack of information they gathered on the group during and after the engagement. She didn't really know anything more about this group now than she did before reading the report.

According to the report, the fighters of this group fought with an extreme disregard for the lives of themselves and their comrades, making it impossible to take them prisoners. In addition, before their defeat, they overloaded the energy reactors in their command buildings, destroying most of the buildings and erasing any information that could be used to learn more about them. Task Force Epsilon tried to investigate the remains of the battle, but these attempts yielded few useful results.

Where did these people come from? No idea. What were they doing here? Still no idea. Sure, they discovered the presence of a starfighter with power anti-armor torpedoes, but she doubted whether they could replicate them. Most factions in the galaxy had their own measures built into their advanced weapons to prevent others from dissecting them and making copycats. Plus, all the starfighters were shot down and thus extremely damaged.

The commodore paused for a brief second before signing her name, sending the report to the communications team, and moving on. All evidence points to the idea that this team was an elite covert ops unit. It was impossible now to find out their source or mission, not that it mattered anymore. Whatever they were here for, they have failed.

Just for the sake of precaution and in case more of these units were deployed to Diego Nine, she would send reinforcements to Task Force Epsilon and the 329th Infantry Division, but there would be little else she could do.

There was a knock at the door.

“Enter.”

“Commodore.” A young woman stepped into the office. She was a tall woman with short red hair. There was a tablet in her left hand. “Your father just requested an emergency meeting. He said it’s urgent.”

“Thank you, Freya.” Commodore Thea nodded and stood up from her seat. She quickly stretched her arms, a casual move that she would never do in front of her officers or colleagues. Then again, Freya wasn’t either of those.

The commodore made her way out of her office and toward the private conference room just down the hallway. Freya locked the office door behind her before following the commodore.

The hallway connecting the office and the conference room was empty, and the two of them walked in silence. The only sound that could be heard echoing through the area was that of their boots kicking against the steel floor. As they reached the conference room, Freya stepped forward and pressed her right eye against a sensor. There was a beep, and the young woman proceeded to press her right thumb against an electronic screen.

Following another beep, the door snapped open and the two entered. Freya made her way to a control console and tapped a few keys while the commodore stood in the middle of the room, drew a deep breath, and prepared herself. Most people wouldn’t feel nervous when talking to their father. Then again, most people didn't have a father who was the Grand Admiral of the Sector Military Command and the de facto leader of an Imperial Minor House.

There was a moment of silence before Freya turned to the Commodore.

“Are you ready, commodore?”

“Yes.”

Freya clicked a single key on the command console, and the hologram projectors in the conference buzzed to life. A figure appeared in front of Thea. It was a man in his sixties in an Imperial Navy uniform. The golden markings on his shoulder put his rank at Imperial Grand Admiral, one of the highest ranks in the sector. There was a stern, stoic look on his face that hasn’t changed in the slightest by the presence of his daughter.

“Sir.” Commodore Thea greeted.

“Laura.” The Grand Admiral had no intentions of wasting time on casual chitchat. “Is your end secure?”

“Yes sir.”

“Very well. I will get straight to the point then.” The man continued. “In a few hours, the Sector High Command will order the 195th Fleet to dispatch reinforcements to star systems Chronicles and Belles. Find a reason to delay sending your forces for as long as possible.”

If there was a common sailor or trooper in here, they would never believe their own ears. A grand admiral of the Sector High Command instructing his daughter, the leader of an entire fleet, to subtly refuse the orders of the same Sector High Command the grand admiral was a part of? But neither Commodore Thea nor Freya was shocked. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

“May I ask why?” Commodore Thea simply frowned. “Something like this can easily be seen as treason. If it gets discovered…”

“This campaign is turning out to be a mistake.” The Grand Admiral explained quietly. “We are taking significant losses on the frontline from Republic counterattacks. The 22nd and 37th Fleets were crippled in a single engagement. Whatever advantage we had at the start of the offensive is no more. The Republic is mobilizing resources from multiple sectors while we are on our own. There have been intel about Republic vanguard teams attacking our supply stations and nexus worlds. Any fleets deployed to the front are likely to be crippled or even lost.”

Commodore Thea froze. This was hardly what she expected, and in a brief second, she realized the political implications of this news. “And Lord Augustus…”

“Lord Augustus has been drawing garrison fleets from all over the Orion Sector in a final gamble for victory, but most likely than not it will fail. We simply don’t have the resources to win. Many of us in the High Command has been trying to convince Lord Augustus to order a retreat. So far we have had little luck, but it will only be a matter of time before Lord Vitz steps in and override his son’s directives and order a retreat. Lord Vitz has given Lord Augustus a lot of authority and resources in this campaign, but even he may recognize that Lord Augustus has failed.”

The grand admiral paused before adding.

“House Thea will not throw away its armadas because of the mistake of an inexperienced heir. We are nothing without our fleets. Plus, we are not the only House doing this. Houses Raven, Halsey, West, and Adler are all withholding their support. Even the more stubborn ones, like House Ledger and House Ford, have been trying to convince Lord Augustus to retreat. Even if Lord Vitz finds out what we have been doing, he will have no choice but to be understanding and forgive us. We are the bedrocks of Battlefleet Silver Lance. Challenging us is no different from destroying the Battlefleet as its stands.”

Commodore Thea stood in silence for a few seconds. “I understand.”  She finally said quietly.

“Good. Anything else?”

“No, sir.”

Without another word, Grand Admiral Thea ended the call. The meeting itself was brief, but the information it contained could shake the foundation of power across countless worlds if released into the sector.

“I can falsify a communication outage.” After the call ended and the hologram projectors have died down, Freya approached the commodore and suggested. “Long-range communication has always been notoriously prone to errors. This may be the best excuse to give to the High Command.”

“Good idea, but that is not what I am worried about right now.” Commodore Thea answered as she found her way to a seat along the wall of the conference room. Freya followed. “Lord Augustus…this campaign was supposed to be his proof to the galaxy that he would be a worthy successor to his father as the head of House Vitz and the Lord of Sector 9A2. A defeat like this only achieved the exact opposite.”

Commodore Thea wasn’t concerned that her words would fall into the wrong ears. If there was someone she trusted with all her secrets, it was Freya.

Freya was one of the thousands of orphans that House Thea adopted as kids and trained to become absolute loyalists of House Thea. Some of these orphans would grow up to be officers and captains of House Thea’s private armies and fleets. Others would be more fit as bureaucrats, bodyguards, or assassins.

In Freya’s case. she was trained to be Laura’s closest friend, bodyguard, confidant, and assistant from the very beginning. The two met when they were kids, and ever since then, Freya had been told so many times that her sole purpose of living was to help Laura until it was the only truth that she knew. It was hardly an exaggeration to say that she would gladly die for Laura.

Even when the task was something as dangerous, and potentially as treasonous, as deceiving the Sector High Command, Freya would gladly do so without a second thought. If things went wrong and her actions were discovered, she would gladly claim she was working on her own and absolve House Thea of any liabilities.

Whether that would work was a whole different matter.

“Lord Augustus should be able to recover from this blow.” Freya reasoned. Due to her position, she knew a lot about the political intrigues of the most powerful family in the sector. “Lord Vitz favors Lord Augustus. The tradition in House Vitz has always been to name the oldest son or daughter as the successor, and by all accounts, Lord Vitz is planning on continuing with this tradition. After the death of Lord Anton Jr, Lord Augustus is the oldest child. As talented as Lord Petrov and Lord Misha may be, they will likely never inherit their father’s position unless Lord Augustus, well...”

“That’s the problem.” Commodore Thea shook her head. “Lord Vitz is reaching his elderly years. That is why he has given Lord Augustus command of this campaign to help him show his authority and power. If Lord Augustus was able to prove himself, he would be able to inherit the sector after the passing of his father, but as things are now, a transition of power may not be as peaceful.”

“The sector needs a strong leader if it wants to survive and prosper, and if Lord Augustus is not that leader, then perhaps some within the sector will turn their support to Lord Misha or Lord Petrov. At the same time, others may follow the will of Lord Vitz and the traditions of this sector.” Commodore Thea paused. “In the worst case, the matter may be settled by force. In other words, a civil war.”

Freya frowned. A civil war within Sector 9A2 would be disastrous for all parties involved. Not only would there be massive casualties on both sides, but external forces like the Salin Empire or the United Republic of Dorn could also use this opportunity to extend their influence into the Imperial Sector. Even other Imperial Major Houses, such as House Bai from the neighboring Sector 5F2, might sense a chance to expand their territories.

Even more concerningly, in the case of an internal power conflict, all Minor Houses would need to choose a side. Those who remained on the sideline would lose the favor of both parties. Those who chose the wrong side, and there would inevitably be many of them, might meet quite unfortunate ends.

“Perhaps I am being too pessimistic. Most in the sector wouldn’t want to see a civil war, and the Leviathan may even intervene to mediate things if things got too heated.” Commodore Thea shook her head and tried to shake her concerns.

The two sat there for a few seconds in silence before Commodore Thea suddenly scoffed. “It’s ironic, isn’t it? We are supposed to be the most loyal supporters of Lord Vitz. We have all sworn our oaths. Yet here we are, conspiring on how to deceive the Sector High Command and plotting what to do after the death of our Lord.”

Freya frowned and remained quiet, unsure of where Commodore Thea was getting at.

“Freya, I know you are a fan of going through the archives during your free time. Do you remember House Volt?” Commodore Thea asked.

“Of course, commodore.”

“Then you must know what led to their downfall.”

“Indeed, commodore. Around 62 years ago, when a young Lord Anton Vitz inherited the position as the head of House Vitz from her mother, the late Lady Caroline, a number of Minor Houses in the sector formed a coalition and attempted to intimidate the newly ascended Lord Vitz into making political concessions to members of the coalition. This coalition was led by House Volt, famed guardians of Lady Caroline and a major power in Battlefleet Silver Lance.”

“And how did it end?”

“Poorly for the coalition. Lord Vitz was able to destroy this coalition, purging all their forces and influence in the sector,” replied Freya.

“After defeating this coalition, Lord Vitz grew quite suspicious of giving power to Minor Houses. He, correctly, recognized that Houses, with their own populations, planets, and fleets, can be a major threat to his rule. Unsurprising. Any leader hopes all their people are loyal to them and them alone. Minor Houses often have their own interests at heart.”

“One of the measures he took was getting rid of House members from Battlefleet Silver Lance, instead choosing to promote officers from humble backgrounds. Officers who would be grateful to him for the opportunities that would usually be reserved for more privileged individuals. He hoped this would ensure the armada remained loyal to him and him alone.” Commodore Thea explained.

“It worked. For a time.” She continued. “But as the years went on, the young officers started accumulating power and influence just by the nature of their position. Gradually, their own officers and sailors started to become more loyal to them than to Lord Vitz. These officers were often rewarded land, sometimes entire planets, for their conquests. With land, came population and manufacturing capabilities, and with those two came armies and fleets. Before long, these officers found themselves the head of their own small factions. At that point, the lordship from the Leviathan came naturally.”

“Houses Ledger, Adler, West, Raven…they all originated from the same group of young officers who Lord Vitz promoted all those decades ago. They were meant to serve House Vitz with no thoughts of self-interest, and yet here we are.”

“If I may ask a question, commodore.” Freya paused. She did read a lot about what happened back in the archives of House Thea, but many important things weren’t kept in the archives. This was the first time she had heard about this struggle for power.

“Go ahead.”

“Why doesn’t Lord Vitz reward his officers with wealth and treasures instead of land? Like what the Republic does? That can prevent Houses like ours from empire building.” The redhead asked curiously.

“Because, for better or for worse, that is the traditions within the Imperium. The Imperium claims to be a meritocracy. Now…we all know it’s not completely true, but the fact is that the Imperium needs to show its people that their service can get them anything they may want. If Lord Vitz cut back on the rewards, whether by curtailing the absolute control these Houses have in their realms or by outright stripping them of their private territories, it will sow dissent among the group whose support he desperately needs to maintain control. Dissent that can easily cause the officers to be bought by other Lords within the Imperium willing to offer more. It is for that reason that, even as he defeated the coalition, Lord Vitz still left most of the Minor Houses in the sector untouched.”

The reality of politics was that any tyrant, even the cruelest ones, needed the support of some of their people. Lord Vitz could conscript billions of civilians to die in his wars. He could bomb entire worlds if he wished. However, to do any of that, he had to satisfy Battlefleet Silver Lance and ensure the loyalty of this armada, including the Minor Houses who had major sway within the Battlefleet. The moment he alienated and lost all his enforcers, he would be nothing more than a frail, old man.

The coalition only included a portion of Minor Houses in Sector 9A2. That was why Lord Vitz was able to survive in the first place.

Even when he sought to remove the political influence of the Minor Houses in Battlefleet Silver Lance, Lord Vitz did this with peaceful means. He gave the original houses a lot of wealth and land in exchange for the removal of their influence in the armada, hoping this small concession would allow him to truly make Battlefleet Silver Lance his.

Freya nodded. “But House Thea…I thought House Thea was present in Battlefleet Silver Lance during the time of Lady Caroline.”

“Indeed. My grandfather was Lord Vitz’s mentor when he was a young man. He helped Lord Vitz defeat the coalition and maintain his power after he inherited his mother’s throne. During the reorganization of Battlefleet Silver Lance, my grandfather offered to have his three children, all serving as commanding officers in Battlefleet Silver Lance, resign. Lord Vitz offered us an exception, and in return, my grandfather swore that House Thea would forever serve the will of Lord Vitz, no matter the cost. He made his three children do the same.”

Freya raised her eyebrows. “But the Grand Admiral just said…”

“It was just an oath, Freya. Perhaps it was a lie since the beginning. Perhaps it was the truth at the time. The fact is that after so many decades, it seems like my grandfather ultimately decided the family’s military assets are more important than a simple promise. House Thea will serve House Vitz, but we will not put the interest of House Vitz above that of our own. Such has always been the way of Minor Houses within the Imperium.”

The commodore stood up and turned to Freya. “Will you be able to handle this matter discreetly?”

“Yes, Commodore. Most of the crew aboard this fleet are our people. It is entirely possible to do this without alerting the ISC Overseers and the rest of the crew we don’t trust.”

“Very well. In that case, I will leave it to you to handle this matter.” The commodore turned to the door. “I will get back to reading my reports.”

Chapter 40: The Colonel's Promise

In the three weeks that followed the battle that supposedly resulted in the destruction of all terran forces on Diego Nine, the terran bases continued to expand in the remote mountain range, far outside of the view of the Imperial forces.

It took four more days of nonstop working before the SCVs were finally able to clear up enough parts of the mountain to move the command centers inside. Once that was done, the entrance was sealed off by a layer of stones moved from other parts of the mountain. Behind the layer of stones were meters and meters of neosteel support beams.

Just like this, the terran base was completely hidden from view. They might still be discovered if someone dropped missiles on the mountains from orbit for some reason or brought demolition charges, but most people would have no way of knowing the terran base existed in the first place. No one would also bother with dropping expensive bombs on random mountains for the fun of it.

Under Athena’s directives, the terran base started expanding inside the cave. More and more SCVs were produced from the command centers and sent to convert local stones into units of minerals. At the same time, Athena pocketed most of the minerals harvested. She also kept a token garrison with the terran base. She would have no way of bringing these units along with her, and if the terran base was indeed discovered, it would be almost impossible to defend the base against the main forces of the Imperial Navy.

Three new orbital command centers were built inside the cave to replace the single orbital command that was destroyed by the Imperials. Once again, they hacked into the three Imperial S-78 satellites. This time, with sufficient time to work with, they were able to acquire complete access to these satellites.

This allowed Athena to do plenty of things with the three valuable Imperial orbital assets. For example, she could eavesdrop on a number of moderately classified communication channels that used satellites to boost the signal. She could also see everything the satellites saw. If she wished, she could have the satellites feed the Imperials false information, but that could lead to the Imperials realizing their satellites have been compromised.

As of now, Athena was content with remaining on the planet. She had considered using the terran liberators to escape this world, but in the terran arsenal, only capital ships like the battlecruisers had warp drives capable of long-distance jumping. The warp drives of liberators, vikings, and medivacs could only perform short-distance hops.

There was another problem. In order for terran ships to jump, they needed coordinates. For short-range jumps, the ship’s own scanners could handle that, but for long-range jumps, the terran vessels needed star maps. Athena was fairly confident she could use Imperial or Republic star maps, but she didn't have access to those either as of now.

Athena had also pondered the idea of discreetly sending SCVs to the Calypso-class light cruiser her vikings shot down to study it and try to unlock more terran vessels. Unfortunately, the Imperial Navy seemed to be quite protective of their ships. From what the satellites saw, a contingent of marines remained with the ship at all times while their engineers salvaged anything of importance from the destroyed vessel. By the time the marines and engineers left, the wreckage was no more than a pile of scrap metal.

---

As the days went by, following the orders of Commodore Thea, additional Imperial reinforcements were dispatched to Diego Nine from the rest of the system to bolster the forces of the local garrison. In orbit, Task Force Foxtrot, one of the smaller units, reinforced Task Force Epsilon. On the ground, four regiments from the 317th Armored Division joined the 329th. They were commanded by Brigadier General Ethan of the 317th, who worked under Major General Pierre of the 329th.

Terran commander Athena didn't really mind the increased security. It wasn’t like she was planning on storming Prosperity. On the other hand, Captain Athena of the 329th Infantry Division absolutely hated this change.

As the battle tanks of the 317th Armored Division drove into the city of Prosperity, it soon became clear that the troops from the 317th had little respect for the infantry grunts of the 329th. It didn't really matter to the men of the 317th that both divisions were part of the Imperial Army or the fact that to their superiors in the Sector High Command they were equally expendable.

When it came to achievements in the recent campaign, the 317th was the spearhead of the invasion of Diego Secondary, where they endured massive casualties and decimated the main stronghold of the Republic garrison there. Given that track record, it should be no surprise that the 317th snickered upon the 329th’s accomplishment of taking a relatively poorly defended world like Diego Nine.

The fact that the 329th endured heavy losses at the hands of a small covert ops unit, one that had been destroyed by the Imperial Navy, only drew even more words of mockery from the fresh troops who have never faced the terran units in combat before.

The armored units of the 317th were ordered to join the companies of the 329th in garrisoning the city. It was a command that led to increased tension between the two units. Many from the 317th complained about the redeployment, since the living conditions on the remote mining world was much worse compared to that on a civilized, heavily populated world like Diego Secondary. They often blamed the incompetency of the 329th for this redeployment, an opinion many were quite loud about.

Athena had the misfortune of having to deal with a few particularly rude captains, but most were at least somewhat respectful toward an officer like her. It was the common soldiers of the 329th that the disgruntled men of the 317th took out their frustrations on. That soon became apparent in one particularly serious incident.

In a bar, a group of drunk soldiers from the 317th, led by an even more drunk captain, assaulted two soldiers from the 329th with no justification. One of the soldiers from the 329th lost an eye while the other no longer had all his fingers.

Since both soldiers were from the 3rd Regiment, Colonel Gavin found himself in an interesting situation. A situation that he wisely sought the consul of his officers before deciding what to do.

“We have surveillance footage from the bar that clearly shows what happened. Those bastards from the 317th assaulted our people! They ganged up on two of our men when there were a dozen of them! They need to be held accountable for this!”

The man talking was Captain Rayne, a newly promoted officer who was the captain of the two soldiers who were brutalized in the barfight. Like many officers who rose up from the bottom, he was rather protective of the men under his leadership. It was a quality that often made these officers well-beloved by their men yet looked down upon by officers who had more noble beginnings.

“I agree, sir. This crime cannot go unpunished.” Athena added. She was responsible for the death of thousands of Imperial soldiers from the 329th, but that didn't stop her from standing up for the two injured soldiers here and now.

When she ordered her terran troops against the Imperial forces a few weeks ago, the Terrans and the Imperials were enemies on the battlefield. The terran troops wanted to kill the Imperials, and the Imperials wanted to kill the Terrans. Yes, she used surprise and deception to achieve her goals, but ultimately it was war. Some things just had to be done.

What happened in the bar wasn’t war, and the 329th and the 317th weren’t enemies. She had seen the surveillance footage and talked to the eyewitnesses. The group of off-duty soldiers from the 317th was solely responsible for the fight. They provoked the pair of soldiers from the 329th, and when the pair tried to leave, they were jumped on. The group of soldiers, under the influence of lots of free alcohol, proceeded to humiliate and injure the pair for no reasons other than their own sadistic pleasure.

None of this was necessary or justified in the slightest. This was nothing more than a random act of needless cruelty done by a group of psychopathic killers. Regardless of what she really felt about the Venya Imperium, Athena simply felt like these sadists should be held accountable for what they did.

“I agree that the men from the 317th are in the wrong, and I would like to see them punished as much as anyone else in this room, but I’m afraid it’s quite a complicated matter.” Another captain hesitantly raised his voice. “These people are from the 317th, which means you don’t have jurisdiction over them, colonel. Neither does General Pierre. If we want to hold them accountable, we will need to get permission from Brigadier General Ethan. Is it truly necessary to…”

He didn't finish his thoughts, but everyone knew what he meant. It was unlikely the Brigadier General would be too happy to be disturbed because two infantry soldiers were injured in a random fight. Plus, in order to get his attention in the first place, they would likely have to involve General Pierre. All that for two privates who only lost an eye and a few fingers?

There was a moment of silence as Colonel Gavin, who had been observing the meeting, turned to some of the other captains who had yet to give their opinions.

“What are your opinions?”

“I have been talking to a few officers from the 317th.” Captain Rogers offered his input as well. “One of them told me Brigadier General Ethan and Major General Quinton of the 317th were famous for being laid back when it comes to maintaining discipline over their men. It seems like the belief within their division is that as long as the troops and officers are winning battles, nothing else matters. It would be almost impossible to get him to punish his men. Not for two injured privates.”

“With all due respect, sir, I am not even quite sure if this meeting is necessary.” Another veteran captain was a lot blunter. “Is a small matter like this one really worth our time? Two of our people were beaten up. So what? We lost thousands just to take this city. I would let this go if I were you, sir.”

“This is not a small matter!” Captain Rayne protested as he snapped at Captain Rogers in disbelief. “I don’t care if they injured two privates or two generals. What they did is a clear violation of our military law! Violations like this cannot just be ignored!”

“Military law?” Captain Rogers scoffed a little but didn't continue. Once again, his meaning was clear. Laws only mattered when there were people willing to enforce them.

“I agree with Captain Rayne, sir. We cannot just let this matter go.” Once again, Athena spoke up under the guise of a good Imperial officer. “Our men are watching how we handle this incident. How can we expect them to fight for us if we are not willing to stand up for them during times like this? Perhaps they only injured two privates, but their action is an attack on the entire 329th Infantry. If this crime goes unpunished just because the culprits have been good soldiers, then the military law of the Imperial Army means nothing!”

“There can be no army without discipline, sir! It doesn’t matter who these people were, where they came from, or what achievements they have accomplished. They have violated our laws and injured two of their own comrades. They must pay for their crimes.”

As Athena finished, Colonel Gavin nodded quietly. Once again, he gave the captains no indication of his own opinion in this matter.

“Is there anyone else who agrees with Captain Rayne and Captain Dane? Anyone else who thinks I should bring this matter up to General Pierre and try to hold these people accountable?”

Once again, there was silence. Colonel Gavin nodded understandingly. “In that case, everyone out. Everyone except for Captain Rayne and Captain Dane.”

The captains exchanged confused looks before exiting the colonel’s office. As the door was closed, Colonel Gavin let out a small scoff and finally let his opinions on the subject be known.

“Ironic, isn’t it? Such an open and shut case, yet so many officers think I should just let it go. That I should just turn a blind eye because the victims weren’t important enough to care.” The young colonel sighed and turned to Athena.

“You’re right, Athena. It is in the best interest of our unit to do the right thing and enforce discipline, no matter how difficult it may be or how it may impact my career. I am an officer of the Imperial Army, and it is my duty to put the good of the Imperium above my own personal gains. This should be the belief of every Imperial officer. Still, unfortunately, it seems like most of us would rather put our own benefits and career over the betterment of the empire that we have sworn to serve.”

Athena raised her eyebrows. This was the first time she has heard opinions like this expressed by Colonel Gavin. She had always known the inexperienced colonel would be shaken by the nature of the Imperial Army, not only the brutality but also the corruption, the incompetency, and the political games that almost all officers play. She expected him to either quit or adapt, but it seemed like the young man chose the third option for himself.

He wanted to stay true to his beliefs. Stay true to his loyalty and his sense of justice. In a sense, it was an honorable decision, but in a galaxy like this, honorable people tended to have tragic endings.

Colonel Gavin’s intentions might be good, but systematic change? Who was he to talk about systematic change? Was he the son of the Leviathan and the crown prince of the Imperium? Was he the heir to a Major House with entire battlefleets at his disposal? No. He was just a random officer in a random division raised from a random world. For someone like him to dream of ridding the Imperium of corruption and incompetency was like a beggar hoping to become the wealthiest person on the planet. Some might even call it delusional.

“I will personally talk to General Pierre about this matter. Regardless of if he will act, it is my duty to do the right thing.” The colonel concluded.

“Thank you, sir.” Captain Rayne lowered his head in respect. “We are honored to have you as our colonel.”

“I simply do what any colonel of the Imperium should do in a situation like this.” The colonel shook his head before unveiling another piece of information. “In addition, I will be moving my command post to the 3rd Regiment barracks in Prosperity.”

The last statement made Athena raise her eyebrows a little. In most cases, high-level commanders in Imperial Army divisions like the 329th would command their forces from the safety of Raven-class command ships. In addition to their impressive communication arrays, the Ravens were known for their expensive shields and almost unparalleled speed. The presence of these command ships meant that if things went horribly wrong, the important commanders, the generals and the colonels, could get out of there as soon as possible.

When Athena ambushed and wiped out the entirety of the 4th Infantry Regiment in Valley Charlie, the only thing that hurt Colonel Kai was the humiliation of the defeat and the loss of his forces. The man himself was perfectly safe within a control room of the single Raven ship assigned to the 329th.

In a sense, protecting the chain of command and preventing the enemies from crippling the unit by destroying the leadership was a wise thing to do. At the same time, how could the colonels and generals see their men as anything more than numbers on a screen when they themselves were often countless miles away from the battlefield?

Even outside of combat, General Pierre and his colonels remained in the Raven as their troops garrisoned Prosperity. Security was just one aspect. Most colonels simply preferred to stay with their fellow officers and their general rather than waste time with the grunts who could all be dead at the end of the next battle and replaced not long after. They still made important decisions, but they relied on the captains to be close to and control their troops.

What Colonel Gavin said he would do…it was permitted, of course. At the same time, for better or for worse, it contradicted a lot of traditions within the Imperial Army.

For Athena, that made the colonel rather…interesting.

Chapter 41: The Sudden News

In the end, as Athena, Captain Rayne, and probably even the colonel himself, expected, nothing real came out of the colonel’s attempt to hold the group of troops from the 317th accountable.

Colonel Gavin did bring the matter up to General Pierre. The general, after some thoughts and likely out of respect for his personal relationship with the colonel, mentioned what happened to Brigadier General Ethan. The Brigadier General, not wanting to dismiss his superior officer too casually, patiently explained that the 317th officer in question was the captain of one of the vanguard companies known for their courage and skills. The captain himself was responsible for a daring assault that led to one of the major victories of the 317th. Punishing him for something so petty might hurt the morale of the men of the 317th.

General Pierre didn't want to alienate the 317th for such an insignificant matter, and Brigadier General Ethan had no intention of making the commander he reported to feel slighted. The result was a concession on both sides. The group of soldiers from the 317th would lose many of their privileges in the next month, including leave days and access to alcoholic drinks while not on duty.

These were superficial punishments, but even these superficial punishments were only put in place because it was General Pierre who talked to the Brigadier General. If Colonel Gavin or Captain Rayne brought it up…they might not even get an audience in the first place.

Colonel Gavin, of course, wasn’t satisfied when he was summoned to General Pierre’s office and given the update. No leave days? No alcohol? For the next month? This was the entire extent of the punishments for those who broke the military law that everyone in the Imperial Army had sworn to uphold? Since when had achievements or ranks become a get-out-of-jail-free card? The Imperium was supposed to be better than this!

Yet General Pierre made it clear that this was already more than what would normally happen.

“Let this go, Jason!” The general insisted when the colonel pushed him to do more. “Forget about the damn military law! The law doesn’t apply to everyone! If you don’t know when to make compromises, you won’t last long in the Imperial Army! I can guarantee that!”

Ultimately, Colonel Gavin agreed to let this matter go. Not out of want, but out of need. Even so, this event that most might consider minor left a deep impression in the colonel’s mind. It was just another one of the many things that made him realize how incompetent and corrupt the Imperial Army and the Imperial Navy truly were.

A lesser man would’ve given up and gone along with what everyone else was doing, but Colonel Gavin refused. He truly loved the Imperium and he truly believed that the Imperium would bring peace and prosperity to this war-torn galaxy. Despite what others kept on telling him, he would continue to do his duty as an Imperial officer, even if it might mean the end of his career.

Another week went by without much of a fuss. With over 100,000 SCVs mining in the mountain range, Athena was making one to two million units of minerals every day. She did have a lot of workers, but her margins were quite low due to the extra cost associated with working underground. A lot of SCV hours and minerals had to be spent on preventing the mountain from collapsing on top of the terran base.

It didn't take long before her total mineral count reached over 31 million units. It was a lot of money. If she put everything in upgraded marines, she could get 10 divisions of marines. Put everything in zerglings without worrying about the supply, and she would have a horde of over one million upgraded zerglings. Even if she was to leave this world right now and no longer get income from this planet, she still had enough minerals to build up a sizeable army of units. Still, she didn't have enough to challenge the Imperial Navy head-on.

As the days went on, Athena patiently waited for a chance to leave this world. She didn't know much about how the overall campaign was going. The three satellites she gained full control over allowed her to eavesdrop on a lot of communication between various Imperial personnel, but most Imperials garrisoned on the planet didn't know any more than she did. More classified channels tended to be independent of the three S-78s and solely relied on the communication arrays on the warships.

Everything changed in one fateful evening. It was four weeks after the destruction of the terran base. The time was around 2 AM on the planet. Most Imperials on the world, including Athena, were asleep. That was when completely unexpected news reached the officers and soldiers of the 329th and the 317th.

Athena was alerted slightly before everyone else. In fact, it was the feminine mechanical voice of a terran adjutant that first woke her from her sleep. The adjutant was one of the adjutants in the orbital command centers in the underground terran base. Part of its job involved keeping track of the Imperial satellites and the communications they were transmitting.

“Commander, 20 seconds ago, a message was sent to the command staff of the 317th Armored Division and the 329th Infantry Division from the flagship of Task Force Epsilon. The message instructed the command staff to prepare their units for immediate extraction. Eagle-class transport ships are already sent toward the planet's surface. They will arrive in 15 minutes. The command staff is instructed to complete the boarding process within 30 minutes of the arrival of the transports. After that, all transports will depart. No exceptions will be made.”

“What?” For a second Athena thought she was still dreaming. As soon as she realized she wasn’t, she entered the game and paused time in the outside world. “Adjutant. What is going on?”

“The message from Task Force Epsilon appeared to have been sent in a hurry. It didn't include any explanations. It would appear that the Imperium is planning on abandoning the planet of Diego Nine. All units are to be evacuated as soon as possible.” The adjutant did its best to explain given the limited amount of information it was aware of.

“The Imperials are leaving? I thought Diego Nine was a valuable asset for them!” Athena did her best to understand what the message meant. “Maybe they discovered the terran base? But if they did, they should be reinforcing the position, not evacuating its garrisons. Maybe they found out more about the Terrans than I thought and instead decided to quarantine the planet from orbit?”

“Commander, I don’t think it is related to the terran forces.” Nova reminded Athena. “This may have something to do with the wider campaign against the Republic. Most likely, the Imperium is losing the war, and with the momentum on the side of the Republic, it has become impossible to hold onto conquered worlds like Diego Nine. Any armies or fleets left on these worlds may be at risk of being destroyed. That’s why this evacuation is happening, and judging by how sudden everything is, the defeat might have come as a surprise.”

“Regardless of why this evacuation is happening, the question is what I can do right now.” Athena agreed with Nova’s guess, but ultimately it was impossible for them to verify the truth in the near future. “You’re right in that the only reason for the Imperials to leave this world is that they can’t hold it. I will leave my underground terran base as it is. While I’m gone, it can continue to accumulate resources and units until I eventually return. Nova, will an adjutant be able to handle the task of commanding an entire base?”

“Yes, commander. Like queens, adjutants will be able to handle tasks such as unit production, resource mining and allocation, and combat organization, if the need arose. However, adjutants will not be able to adopt complex, long-term strategies that may be needed to adapt to different situations.”

Athena nodded, knowing what Nova meant. If the terran base was under attack, the adjutant would spend resources on producing combat units and send these units against the enemies. However, the adjutants wouldn’t know to set up ambushes. Or to feign defeats. Or to adopt decapitation tactics against enemy commanders. They would just send troops against the enemies until the enemies were defeated or the terran base ran out of units. It was unsurprising, given adjutants were mainly designed to assist human commanders who would come up with strategies and tactics.

Since she didn't have any alternate options, it seemed like she had to stick to using adjutants as the commanders while she was gone.

“Very well. In that case, I will just evacuate from this world with the 329th.” Athena had no intention of deserting right now and staying on the planet. If the Republic was indeed taking back its lost worlds, then remaining on this world would mean she had to stay underground for the foreseeable future. Of course, she could also try to go out on her own with liberators, but liberators only had short-range warp drives. In the worst-case scenario, using liberators as her personal transport might leave her stranded in space for a long, long time.

None of these were good ideas compared to hitching a ride with the Imperial Navy and returning to an Imperial world. She would still have trouble leaving, but it was likely more and more deployments would be waiting for the 329th. She already unlocked the terran starport and acquired a massive amount of resources. She was sure she could find a chance to escape the 329th Division if she wished.

Overall, despite how things might have gone for the Imperium, this campaign was a grand success for her.

With that decision made and after leaving the adjutants with a series of instructions on how to proceed, Athena exited the game. She waited in her private quarters for half a minute before a call reached her PEI.

“Captain Dane! Captain Dane, come in!” The voice belonged to a lieutenant from the Regimental Command Staff of the 3rd Infantry Regiment. The command staff often stayed with the colonel, and when Colonel Gavin moved into the barracks from the Raven-class command ship, he brought his command staff with him.

“Yes.” Athena quickly answered. She wasn’t too concerned about being too fast in picking up the phone. Insomnia was common within the Imperial Army, and something told her people had more pressing matters to worry about right now.

“Captain Dane! Thank god…listen to me very carefully, sir. Gather your company and bring them to the landing pads in front of the barracks. We are evacuating from this world right now! We have transports arriving in ten to fifteen minutes! We need to get everyone aboard in forty!”

“Ten minutes? What about the equipment…” Athena asked a question any officer in her situation would despite knowing the answer already.

“Forget about the equipment, sir! Just get your men onto the transports when they arrive! This is an emergency!”

“I understand.” Athena nodded and ended the call. Still in her pajamas, she made her way out of her private quarters. The first people she woke up were her personal bodyguards who were resting in two nearby rooms. She notified them of what was going on, and the six of them, as confused as they were, started helping Athena with waking as many people as they could.

As the barracks gradually returned to life, countless soldiers cursed, some louder than others, about the bastards who decided to have an emergency evacuation in the middle of the night. It didn't take a veteran to see this wasn’t how retreats were typically supposed to go.

Most retreats took hours, if not days. There were so many things that an army needed to bring along with them when they left. Weapons, armors, munitions, vehicles, drones, rations, and even classified documents all needed to be accounted for before the unit moved out. The assets that couldn’t be taken usually had to be destroyed or sabotaged. Yet this time they were supposed to just drop everything and go? Ten minutes weren’t even enough for everyone to put on their power armor!

They were evacuating a planet they spent months garrisoning, not going on an impromptu coffee run!

Of course, a normal retreat was supposed to go down over a span of days. However, a lot about this campaign deviated from normalcy a while ago.

In reality, Imperial forces all over the Orion Sector had been pushed back for the last standard month. For the last three standard weeks, almost all of Lord Augustus’s veteran admirals and advisors have been telling him to acknowledge the reality that they weren’t going to win this campaign. The Republic forces were more resilient than expected, and once the initial momentum was lost for the Imperials, they were never going to win a war of attrition. Their best course of action would be to retreat back to Sector 9A2. Even defending the conquered systems would likely only lead to more fleets being lost with nothing to gain in return.

Yet Lord Augustus refused. As the oldest son and heir of Lord Anton Vitz, Lord Augustus Vitz refused to see the first campaign he had complete command over end in complete failure. The humiliation would be unbearable for him. Just think about what the other Lords within the sector would say behind his back! Instead of ordering a retreat and preserving most of his forces, the heir decided to throw in all his reserve forces, draw reinforcements from conquered sectors, and place all his bets on a final offensive in an attempt to break the Republic defenses.

For one reason or another, Lord Anton Vitz didn't intervene. Perhaps he was hesitant in overriding his son’s instructions. Perhaps he believed there was a chance the last offensive could work and salvage his heir’s reputation. Perhaps the aging Lord had less control over his sector than most beneath him expected. Perhaps, due to communication errors that were common in a galaxy this big, Lord Anton Vitz was simply unable to act in time. Regardless of why, the reality was that Lord Vitz allowed Lord Augustus to remain in charge of what was left of the campaign.

When this gamble inevitably failed, partially due to the lack of support from many Imperial Minor Houses within Battlefleet Silver Lance, Lord Augustus finally had no choice but to accept reality and withdraw his forces back to the safety of Imperial Sector 9A2. This, unfortunately, was too late for many Imperials.

Even as the campaign turned against the Imperium and a withdrawal was the most ideal decision, most of those in the Sector Military Command didn't dare convey the possibility to their generals and admirals on the front. From their perspective, it was for the sake of self-preservation. No one wanted to be arrested for allegations of spreading misinformation and hurting morale. It was entirely possible Lord Augustus could decide to make an example out of them. More have been executed for less. Those who did warn their people tended to do so in secrecy. A handful of units closely tied to Minor Houses might have been prepared, but most units garrisoned in the Orion Sector still thought the Imperium was winning when the retreat order arrived.

When the order was finally given, it came as a surprise to almost everyone. By then, the Republic forces have already broken the Imperial armadas and were in the process of launching a sector-wide counterattack to recover lost worlds. The Republic had already deployed a lot of resources to the war-torn sector, and its defenders weren’t going to allow the Imperial forces to leave untouched after causing so much damage.

For many admirals, retreating was just a matter of setting the coordinates and leaving, but for the garrisoning forces of the Imperial Army that were often stationed on a planet’s surface, going home safely happened to be a much more daunting task.