Chapter 23: Chapter 23: The Imperial Meeting

Planet 9A2-C-8. Imperial Security Corps Site 12. Meeting Room. 

Corporal Kendrick stood in the middle of the room. There were a dozen figures sitting in an arc around him, all of them the product of the expensive hologram projectors built into the room. Some of these people were wearing the military uniforms of the Imperial Army or the Imperial Navy. Some were also in uniforms, but not that of the Army or the Navy. A handful of them was wearing suits or white lab coats. 

These people were some of the most powerful men and women in this star system. They represented agencies and organizations that could decide the fate of billions, and they were all here for an important meeting. 

The corporal wasn’t the only one physically standing in the room. Right beside him was a middle-aged woman with short blonde hair. She was Major Petrov, the ISC commander tasked with overseeing all ISC forces on the entire planet of Planet 9A2-C-8. 

As two more figures were projected into the room, one of the attendants nodded at Major Petrov. He was a man in his mid-fifties, and the uniform he was wearing was similar to that of the corporal. He was Colonel Davos, head of all Imperial Security Corps forces in the 9A2-C star system and the direct superior of Major Petrov. 

“You may begin, major.” He ordered quietly as all the attendants were present. 

“Yes sir.” Major Petrov nodded before she started introducing the reason for this meeting. “Eight days ago, there was a kidnapping attempt made on a Class B researcher of the Imperial Research Academy, Doctor Jemma Payton, when she was on a research mission to a remote planet designated as Morgo IV.” She glanced at one of the attendants, a young woman in a white lab coat. Doctor Payton was here in the meeting as well.

“The details of the incident are in the briefings sent to your offices before this meeting, but the conclusion reached by our investigation is that this attempt was made by the terrorist group that calls themselves the Venya Revolutionary Guard. I am sure everyone here is familiar, to a degree, with their organization and self-proclaimed purpose.” 

The attendants remained silent as the major continued. They more or less knew about this beforehand, having reviewed the documents already sent to them. 

“The terrorists were able to infiltrate a company of the Imperial Army sent to escort the doctor. They also had aid from the Republic. However, the terrorists are not why we have called this meeting. What is of note during this incident is the presence of a type of xenomorph never seen before in the galaxy.”

Many of the attendants visibly frowned. Xenomorphs? They more or less knew there was more to this incident than just a terrorist operation. The Guard was indeed a threat, but a kidnapping attempt wasn’t worth the attention of individuals at their level. But…xenomorphs? What xenomorphs?

“Corporal.” Major Petrov nodded at Corporal Kendrick, who took a step forward and started explaining. 

“After the rebels showed their true colors and gunned down those in the company loyal to the Imperium, at one point, an unspecified number of xenomorphs appeared inside the research outpost and started attacking rebels and loyalists alike. They are around one meter tall and extremely fast and agile. They seem to have no means of ranged attack, but once they get in melee range, their claws can easily cut through the Guardian-class power armors of Imperial Army troopers. At the same time, they are extremely fragile. One shot from an Executioner-class assault pistol can kill a xenomorph.” Corporal Kendrick explained. 

So…dangerous local wildlife? That alone was hardly unprecedented, but once again, the attendants remained silent, knowing there was more to the story. 

“After escaping back to this planet with Doctor Payton, I immediately informed my superiors of what had happened. After a few hours, Major Petrov authorized me to return to Morgo IV with ships of the Planetary Defense Fleet. We were later reinforced by elements of the System Defense Fleet and infantry units of the 37th Imperial Army Group. However, when we returned to Research Outpost Delta, the xenomorphs were nowhere to be seen.”

Corporal Kendrick explained. He saw the confusion in the eyes of the attendants, and he sighed. He had a similar reaction when he first stepped foot back into the building. 

“I would like to clarify what I mean. There was no trace of the xenomorphs left. There wasn’t a single xenomorph body remaining even though I have come across many xenomorph bodies when I was in the outpost. I have even examined locations where I clearly recall personally killing these xenomorphs, but there wasn’t any sign of that left. Not even a single drop of blood or a tiny piece of flesh. It was as if they had never existed.”

This time, the attendants were getting concerned. Xenomorphs were dangerous, but they doubted xenomorphs with only their claws as weapons could challenge the missiles and bombers of the Imperium. But the bodies were all gone? What could have caused that?

“I can confirm that there were xenomorph bodies in the facility when we left.” Doctor Payton said quietly, knowing some of the attendants might think Corporal Kendrick has gone crazy. 

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“The other survivors from the facility also confirmed the presence of the xenomorphs, both alive and dead.” Major Petrov added. 

“I have a question.” One of the attendants spoke up. Admiral Kido, a commander and representative from Battlefleet Silver Lance of the Imperial Navy. He gestured at the PEI in his hand. “I have been going through the timeline your people compiled and sent to me, Major Petrov. There seems to have been a period of time when a Republic light cruiser was in orbit over Morgo IV. Is it possible that the terrorists cleaned up the bodies of the xenomorphs and brought them aboard the light cruiser? This terrorist group is known to work with the Republic.”

“That is unlikely, admiral.” Major Petrov replied, having considered this possibility before this meeting. “None of the rebels made it off the planet's surface. This leads to another concerning discovery we will mention soon. At the same time, the Republic light cruiser never had the time to explore Research Outpost Delta. Around four minutes after the Republic cruiser jumped in, three of our vessels arrived in orbit of Morgo IV. The Republic light cruiser avoided combat until it jumped away. It never had a chance to send searching parties to the planet's surface.”

Admiral Kido frowned. So the xenomorph bodies weren’t taken by the Republic. Maybe the other xenomorphs devoured them or dragged them away? But if that was the case, it would still leave evidence. He went through a few photos taken of the outpost. He could see claw marks on the ground and evidence of some type of bioform existing, but there were no bodies and no sign of what might have happened to the bodies. 

“The security center was completely destroyed by a mixture of explosions and xenomorph attacks.” Corporal Kendrick continued. “Our technicians weren’t able to recover any useful data from the local server. However, upon closer examination, we did discover that none of the perimeter defenses were offline or damaged.”

“None of the perimeter defenses were damaged? Then how did the xenomorphs get into the building?” A member of the System Military Command asked, confused.

“That’s one of the things that made this incident so strange, general.” Major Petrov replied. “We weren’t able to find any way the xenomorphs could’ve breached the perimeter. All evidence suggests that the xenomorphs just appeared in the middle of the base and started killing. At the same time, by the time our forces returned to the base, the xenomorphs had disappeared again. Once again, we don’t know how they left or where they have gone.”

“Some kind of…teleportation technology?” Another man in a white lab coat frowned. Doctor Rex, head of the Imperial Research Academy branch in the system. “That is impossible! No power in the galaxy has been able to perform teleportations in such a safe and accurate manner! To think some beasts can achieve that…it’s absurd!”

“Major, are you suggesting that the xenomorphs actively destroyed the security center? To cover their trails?” A general from the 37th Imperial Army Group was more focused on something else.

“That is correct, general.”

“Do you know what you are saying, major? This implies that the xenomorphs may not only have sentience but also understand exactly how our technologies work!” The general’s face turned pale. Beasts with raw physical strength weren’t difficult to kill, but when the beasts started thinking, that was when they became dangerous. 

“That is just another reason why this matter deserves the full attention of everyone in this room.” Colonel Davos of the ISC said quietly. He had received reports from Major Petrov before this meeting, making him much more prepared than the others. “We can discuss our response to this matter after we have been given all the information. There is more about the base that doesn’t add up. Corporal, you may continue.”

“Yes sir.” Corporal Kendrick continued. “When we reached the armory, we noticed something interesting. It seemed like a group of rebels, including Captain Hanson, their leader, tried to make a last stand against the xenomorphs inside the armory. They deployed a number of heavy weapons, including Eradicator-class heavy machine guns and Judicator-class flamethrowers. Once again, we weren’t able to find any xenomorph bodies in the proximity, but judging from the surroundings, the rebels were able to survive the attack from the xenomorphs, not that they lived for long.”

“By the time we arrived, all of the rebels in the armory had been killed. Our forensics experts say that they were killed by an explosion of shrapnel. We were even able to find many shrapnels from inside the armory.” He paused. “However, the shrapnels didn't come from any Imperial weapon in the base. It was later confirmed that it didn't come from any known weapon used in the galaxy by any major power.”

He looked at all the generals and admirals and saw that they had the same reaction he did when he first stepped back into the research outpost. Confusion. A lot of confusion. Nothing about this incident added up. Xenomorphs that teleported in, killed everyone, and then just randomly disappeared. Weapons that just showed up out of nowhere, blew up an armory of rebels, and then once again disappeared. What could all these things mean? What force in the galaxy could have done this?

None of the generals and admirals and directors in the room knew, and that was precisely what terrified them. 

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Sorry about the interrupted uploading schedule. I had around ten more chapters saved up but I decided to make some major changes to those chapters. I'll try to finish and upload chapters as quickly as possible while keeping the quality. 

Anyway, one more chapter to show how freaked out the Imperials are by the zerg, and then we're going back to Athena kicking ass. 

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