Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Research Outpost Delta

Athena knew very well that her current situation was tricky. Yes, she had the support of Zerg units and these units gave her more ability to take action that an average Imperial infantry soldier, but she didn't have nearly enough to overwhelm any and all threats to her life by force. She still had to play her cards carefully if she wanted to survive.

“My Queen, as you said, you will not be able to join the side of the Guard or escape the planet on your own.” The Zerg queen suggested. “Your only choice will be to remain as a loyalist to the Imperium until an opportunity to escape presents itself.”

“You’re right.” Athena nodded. “It’s just that…if I want to remain a loyalist and get out of this ordeal alive, I will need to do more than just stay loyal. I also have to find a chance to prove it.”

“Can you elaborate, my Queen?”

“The Imperium doesn’t take kindly to traitors.” Athena bit her lips. “There is a common saying within the Imperium: it is better to let a thousand innocents die than let a single traitor go. That statement itself may be a little exaggerated, but the message is simple. If most of my company turn out to be traitors, then it will be very difficult for the higher-ups to know if I am a traitor as well. If I can’t prove that I’m not, I may very well be executed, just in case.”

The Zerg queen’s talons ticked. As a Zerg command unit who was used to treating lower Zerg units as cannon fodders, she obviously didn't have too many moral concerns. Whether this was an effective strategy was a whole different matter. Her only problem was that this philosophy was causing problems for her Queen.

“The only individuals on this planet in a position to vouch for me will be members of the Imperial Security Corps.” Athena continued. “After the Guard show themselves, the officers in the company, even if they survive, will have trouble saving themselves. If I want to get off this world without being executed, I need to prove my loyalty to members of the ISC combat squad and then make sure they make it off the world alive as well.”

In other words, Athena also had to clear up a significant number of rebels herself, both to keep herself alive and to protect the ISC legionnaires. She couldn’t control the rebels, but she could order the Zerg units to “accidentally” let them go.

Athena turned to the Zerg queen. “It wasn’t really a fair fight, but you have seen the Imperial troops in combat against the Zerg. Any thoughts?”

Tactical analysis and command. This was what the queen was good at, and the Zerg unit quickly produced a reply using the information she witnessed and gathered from the other Zerg units.

“The rifles of these humans, while not as dangerous as the Terran gauss rifles, still pose a significant threat to drones and zerglings. It is likely that they will perform quite well against zerglings at range. Once within melee range, zerglings will be able to decimate the human soldiers with superior speed and reflex. It is likely these human soldiers have only fought human enemies before. They don’t seem to be trained or equipped against the zerglings.”

“If the battle does take place within the tight confines and corridors of the outpost, then the situation will benefit the zerglings.”

“Indeed, my Queen.”

“How would the inclusion of heavy weapons change things?” Athena knew the armory of the research outpost contained far more than just rifles and power armor. “The rebels will likely control the armory at the first possible moment. They will have heavy machine guns, flamethrowers, and rocket launchers at their disposal.”

“I don’t have the details of these heavy weapons, my Queen, but they will likely pose a significant threat to the zerglings even within the enclosed space.” The queen admitted. In the Korupul Sector, firebats have always been a deadly counter to zerglings. The flamethrowers here might not be as effective as firebats, but the number of zerglings Athena had were also limited.

Luckily, the queen had a suggestion. “Given the situation, it may be best to morph and deploy roaches as the main fighting force. They are more expensive than zerglings, but they are tougher and more resilient. They also have powerful ranged attacks that can decimate lightly armored targets. They will be deadly in an environment where the humans can’t deploy air or artillery support.”

Athena nodded before opening the game.

Her resource count jumped by 225 units after massacring the rest of the squad. Knowing 9 people died and after doing some quick math, Athena came to the conclusion that each human life taken gave her 25 units of resources.

This brought her total resources up to around 600 units, and thanks to the newly unlocked Zerg structure, the roach warren, she had a good way of spending the money.

The roach warren unlocked two more Zerg units for Athena: the roach and the ravager.

Roaches were the armored tanks of the Zerg. Their bodies were covered in layers of extremely thick armor that made it almost impossible to take them down with anything short of heavy explosives or artillery. Small-caliber firearms and flame weapons were almost made useless against them. At the same time, roaches posed a significant threat to any ground target in their way. A roach’s main weapon was its highly corrosive acid saliva, capable of dissolving armor and flesh alike upon contact with ease. If the enemies got into close-quarter range, the roaches could easily dispatch them with the blades on their backs. Almost all Zerg units were deadly in melee, but the roaches were especially so.

Each roach cost 200 resources and 2 supplies. Expensive, but well worth the price.

Ravagers were the artillery units of the Zerg. Their main weapon was their plasma discharge which, in addition to being used as a direct-fire weapon, could be fired at ranged targets in an arc similar to a mortar round. These projectiles often excelled at demolishing heavily armored units or defensive structures that had limited mobility.

Ravagers had to be evolved from roaches. In addition to the original cost of the roach, a ravager needed 300 additional resources and occupied 1 additional supply.

At the same time, unlocking the roach warren gave her 50 extra Zerg supplies, bringing the total up to 100.

Athena knew she needed more resources. As effective as roaches were, it would take a lot more than three of them and a dozen zerglings to gain control over the outpost. After looking at the clock in her armor and knowing she still had some time left, Athena decided to stay a little longer. For the next hour, as she waited near the MSVs, her zerglings and trio of roaches went into the forest and hunt down as many of the local animals as they could.

Most of Athena’s zerglings were lost in the process, but by the end of the hour, Athena had a total of 13 roaches. The roaches also proved their strength during the hunting. Few local animals could fare too well after a single shot of the roach’s acidic saliva, and the roaches shrugged off the teeth and claws of any predators that tried to challenge them. Their accomplishments gave Athena plenty of confidence in surviving this whole ordeal.

When the time came, Athena recalled the Zerg units back into the game, hopped onto one of the multi-terrain scout vehicles, and started making her way back to the outpost.

---

Several hours later, Athena’s single MSV reached Research Outpost Delta. She expertly maneuvered the vehicle past a handful of sensors and automated gun turrets before driving it into the base’s garage. But even as Athena got home, she hardly had time to rest. For one thing, she had a report to make to her superiors. As she expected, they weren't too happy with how things turned out.

“Let me get this straight, private. Your entire squad is dead. Your corporal is dead. You, however, made it back. Somehow.”

Standing in the middle of the office, still in her armor but without her weapons, Athena drew a deep breath as she listened to Captain Hanson’s words. The captain was a man in his forties. The old Athena respected the man. Allegedly, the captain started his career in the Army as a common trooper and climbed to his position after spilling god-knew how much blood. He was a well-respected officer and what many thought a good Imperial should be. Loyal, determined, and disciplined.

The suspicion in the captain’s words was obvious, but Athena saw this coming. Her entire squad was killed. This type of mission has been dangerous, but this type of near-total casualty was so far unprecedented. She did retrieve the specimen and complete the mission objective, but that didn't mean there wouldn’t be questions asked.

Luckily, if she played her cards right, she should be able to do just fine. That was the benefit of being the sole survivor. The truth would be what she said it was.

So Athena gave the captain the story she prepared. According to her, her squad successfully acquired the sample and made it back to the spot where they parked their MSVs. This was when something suddenly went very wrong. Countless predators suddenly charged out of the forest and overwhelmed them, acting more like an army than a horde of animals. In the chaos, she had no choice but to get out of there with only a single MSV. The rest of the squad was quickly overwhelmed and killed by the horde.

This was just one of the many stories Athena could tell to explain the death of her squad, but Athena chose this one for a rather specific purpose.

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As she finished, Athena scanned the room. In addition to Captain Hanson, there were two sergeants present. Sergeant Louis, head of her platoon and, according to Corporal Huo, a member of the Guard. Sergeant Diaz, the head of another platoon in the company and a close friend of Captain Hanson. In addition. standing behind her near the door was a pair of sentries, bodyguards handpicked by the captain for their expertise and loyalty.

Who among these people was part of the Guard? Some of them? Most of them? All of them? Athena knew her best bet was to assume they were all turned. She would rather be surprised that some of them were loyalists than be surprised that all were traitors.

“So you left your men, including your commanding officer, behind to die?” Sergeant Louis scoffed. He was clearly not too happy with Athena. “Need I remind you that desertion is punishable by death, private?”

“I did what had to be done to complete my mission, sir. My objective was more important than anything else.” Athena defended herself, unfazed. “This is what Corporal Huo would have wanted.”

The sergeant frowned, but there was little he could say to counter Athena’s point. He turned and glanced at Captain Hanson, who simply nodded at what she told him.

“You are right, Private Dane. Your mission was the top priority. You did the right thing.” The man said, his tone a little nicer than before. “You have had a long day, private. Go get some rest. You deserve it. Sergeant Louis will be responsible for inserting you into another squad in your platoon.”

“Yes sir.” Athena saluted before turning and leaving the room.

As the door shut behind Athena, Sergeant Louis snapped to Captain Hanson. He could barely contain the fear in his voice.

“What should we do about her, sir? Should I arrange another mission and have her taken out?”

The captain leaned back in his seat. He could sense his subordinate’s panic, “Relax, James.”

“Relax? With all due respect, sir, you know what will happen to us if we fail! How can I relax?”

“That is precisely why you need to remain calm, James. Panic will only lead to mistakes, and you said, we cannot afford mistakes.” Captain Hanson looked to the sergeant, his voice cold and threatening.

“I…I am sorry, sir.” The sergeant, much younger and less experienced than the captain, was taken aback by the harsh tone.

The captain tapped the table gently before turning to Sergeant Diaz, a veteran officer he trusted much more than Sergeant Louis. “Thoughts, old friend?”

Like so many times before, Sergeant Diaz gave Captain Hanson a satisfactory answer.

“There are two possibilities, sir. Either she knows about our secret or she doesn’t. I personally think she doesn’t know our plan and is telling the truth. If our people had a chance to attack, she would not be alive right now. The fact that she is back here likely means her squad was taken out before Corporal Huo could act.”

Captain Hanson nodded in agreement. He knew more than anyone else that combat in real life was different from what was portrayed in all the movies. In the movies, an Imperial hero could easily gun down dozens of traitors and enemies in a firefight with nothing but mild injuries. In reality, especially on the planet of Morgo IV, a single bullet was enough to put even the toughest soldier down. If the Guard members did open fire, Athena would never have been able to make it back alive.

“We don’t have an effective way of safely taking her out. Instigator Kendrick has access to all the mission reports. He likely knows this Athena is the only survivor of one mission, and he will grow suspicious if we send her on another one so soon. Throwing her in a cell draws a similar level of attention. If we try to kill her within the facility, well…that would just be stupid. There are so many things that can go wrong. If we try to kill her now, we will almost certainly rouse suspicion.”

“If she doesn’t know anything, we should just leave her be. If she does somehow know about our plan, which again is almost impossible, then the worst case is if she tries to alert Instigator Kendrick and his legionnaires.” Sergeant Diaz continued. “What then? They won’t know who to trust in our company, and fighting back with just a dozen men would be suicide. They will try to escape, but our men already have control over most of the facility. The armory and the hangar are already ours. In the worst-case scenario, we intercept them in the hangar and take them down.”

“This could lead to more casualties than if we struck first. Or the death of Doctor Payton.” Sergeant Louis frowned.

“Both are always possible. As I said, it is almost impossible Private Dane knows anything she shouldn’t. How would she find out?” Sergeant Diaz countered. “If we kill her, the only thing we will do is expose ourselves early for nothing in return. Remember, the Republic reinforcements are scheduled to arrive in four standard days. If we fight now, we have to do all the work.”

The last sentence was enough to get Sergeant Louis to go silent.

Captain Hanson watched the two go back and forth and sighed. The reality was that if the Guard wanted, they could take over the facility, neutralize the ISC combat squad, and capture Doctor Payton right now. They had the numbers and the firepower. What they didn't have…was the will to die for their cause.

Despite what it tried to show to the public, the Guard was hardly an organization filled with revolutionaries who would die a thousand deaths for their mission. These people certainly exist, but they were just a small percentage of the entire Guard. In many cases, the Guard often involved a mix of true revolutionaries, mercenaries, criminals, pirates, and countless more groups who had their own reasons to pick up arms against the Imperium.

The situation in this facility was no different. Some of the troops were turned to the Guard because they believed in the idea of a free Venya. Some simply wanted a way out of the decade of military service. Some were convinced to join because representatives from the Republic promised them new lives as free Republic citizens and a significant sum of Republic credits. Others just utterly hated the Venya Imperium and wanted to watch it burn.

Most of the Guard elements in the 432nd Company didn't want to die in this outpost. They were fine with shooting loyalists in the back or, if they had the firepower, in the front. They were fine with seizing the security center when the time came and allowing Republic covert troops to enter the base unnoticed and storm the lab. None of these was that risky.

But fighting the deadly veteran legionnaires of the Imperial Security Corps head-on all by themselves? The legionnaires of the Corps often kept their guard up when facing the Imperial soldiers, so taking them by surprise would be difficult. In addition, the legionnaires were all zealots to the Imperial cause. An abrupt betrayal, instead of shocking them, would only fill them with fury toward the traitors. Unless it really came down to it, few in the Guard wanted to be the ones to take them out.

Just like that, the decision was made. One option was a tiny possibility where the Guard had to do all the fighting. The other was a guarantee the Guard would have to fight and die. In that case, the final decision was hardly a surprise.

“Get her to a new squad, James. Keep your eyes on the goal and don’t be distracted by a simple accident.” The captain finally ordered. “Remember. Four days. Four days, and we will be out of here. Don’t screw all this up when we are almost at the finishing line.”

“Yes sir.”

As the pair of sergeants left the office, Captain Hanson dismissed the pair of sentries as well. As he was alone in the room, the captain looked at a photo on the desk. It featured a man, a woman, and a young boy. His eyes landed on the face of the boy. His son. In the photo, the little boy was smiling. His smile was so wide and contagious that even now, Captain Hanson couldn’t help but grin a little as well. A grin that quickly disappeared.

Everyone in the Guard joined for different reasons. Sergeant Louis joined to secure himself a way out of the Army without being hunted down and executed as a deserter. Sergeant Diaz wanted to free the people of the Venya Imperium. The leader of Athena’s squad, Corporal Huo, as the captain had learned, was in it for the money.

As for the captain himself, well, he was one of the individuals who just wanted to see the Venya Imperium burned to the ground.

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