Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Unleashing the Terran

Before the chapter starts I want to announce some changes to the uploading schedule. After reading some feedback I decided to adjust my schedule so that I will upload one chapter every weekday, adding up to 5 chapters a week, with each chapter being approximately 2k words. Of course, the exact length depends on the plot. This will require me to allocate a lot more hours to writing but due to some recent life changes I should be able to manage it.  

Also to show my appreciation for all the patrons who support me financially and allow me to spare more time for writing, I will be making the entire week’s chapters available on Patreon at the start of the week for patrons of all levels. All the chapters will still be released for free on Royalroad and Scribblehub. It’s just a reward to my patrons whose support I am infinitely grateful for and make all this possible. 

The next chapter, which will be publicly available on Friday, is available on now.

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As the only starport on the planet of Diego Nine, Starport Cinder was an important part of the Republic’s defenses on the planet. The starport itself, located over 40 miles away from Prosperity, was designed to house, maintain, and deploy over eight squadrons of aircraft.

During the initial assault over the planet, the starport launched almost all of its S60 starfighters to defend the space over the main Republic garrison forces while they rushed into Prosperity. Almost at the same time as these starfighters were shot down by the starfighters attached to the Imperial Navy and the 329th Infantry Division, an Imperial infantry regiment wiped out the token force defending the starport and placed it under Imperial control. 

After the Imperial victory, the 329th kept its attached air wing, consisting of 3 squadrons of Cobra-class atmospheric fighters and 2 squadrons of Anaconda-class atmospherics bombers, in Starport Cinder, using the captured infrastructure, fuel storage, and equipment for their own use. The Imperial Navy starfighters, on the other hand, were stationed aboard the Imperial ships in the planet’s orbit. 

Most of the 329th Infantry Division remained inside the city of Prosperity to maintain order over the numerous disgruntled civilians in the city. At the same time, a force of two infantry companies was deployed to Starport Cinder as a garrison force. 

These two companies were there more due to standard protocols than real concern for assaults on the base. After all, the Republic forces on the planet were eradicated, and there was no real way for the civilians to form any armed resistance. 

Even if Republic attack groups arrived at the planet for a counterattack, they would be quickly spotted by the Imperial Navy ships. Simply put, there were no threats for the defenders of Starport Cinder to be worried about. If anything, being stationed in the starport was better than having to face the angry Republic miners on the streets of Prosperity. 

Some of the various captains in the 329th even competed for a chance to be stationed in Starport Cinder. In the end, a company from the 3rd Regiment and another from the 7th were given the task. Both companies, from the captains at the top to the troopers at the bottom, considered themselves lucky to get this role.

It wouldn’t take long before they were proven completely wrong, for soon the Imperium wouldn’t be the only force on the planet.

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A single Blackbuck-class MSV sped down the road connecting the city of Prosperity to Starport Cinder. Athena sat quietly in the back seat. She was surrounded by three of the men in her company. Lee was driving. A man named Leonard was in the passenger’s seat. Sitting beside Athena was Johnson, and he was reading something on his PEI. All four of them were armored. 

The vehicle suddenly jumped a little, and Lee let out a quiet curse as he held onto the wheel.

“Sorry sir,” He quickly apologized. “The roads here aren’t the best.”

“No worries. Blackbucks are not really designed for comfort. I get it.” Athena replied casually as she scanned the surroundings. This was the first time she had taken a trip down this path, but she had read the files enough times to know exactly how the local terrain was. 

The world of Diego-Nine was covered by mountains, hills, and valleys. It had no water bodies. The terraforming procedure the planet underwent was cheap and crude to the extreme. It did give the planet a breathable atmosphere that made colonization and mining easier, but the procedure didn't change the fact that the world had no rivers, lakes, or oceans. Any water the inhabitants of this world needed had to be imported, making them extremely expensive. For many people on the planet, showering was a luxury.  

The 40 miles of road between Prosperity and Starport Cinder navigated around a handful of mountains near the city. Right now, the Blackbuck Athena was in was driving through a valley promptly named by the locals as Valley C. It was one of three valleys on this path and the closest to Starport Cinder. This one was the largest and the most difficult, with steep cliffs on both sides of the road almost impossible to scale on foot. The valley was large enough to fit two regiments of troops at the same time. 

“You know…the Republic have had this world for years. You’d think they would build a road leading from their main settlement to their most important military asset.” Johnson scoffed and said without looking up from his PEI. 

“The Republic may be corrupt, but they’re not idiots,” Leonard replied from the front seat. “Building a road will be an expensive investment with limited returns. Sure, it will make traveling slightly quicker and maybe a little more comfortable, but it’s just not worth the cost.” 

There was silence for a while before Leonard addressed Athena. 

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, is there a reason we are making this trip to Starport Cinder?” 

Athena raised her eyebrows a little. She knew the six bodyguards she picked a lot better than the ordinary troops and even most of her sergeants. Johnson was always the aggressive one. He would always be looking to pick a fight. Lee was the quiet one, but the fact that he chose to stay in the Imperial Army as a trooper after his first decade of service was over said enough about him. Most likely, killing was all he knew. 

Leonard, as far as Athena could tell, was the most ambitious of them all. He wasn’t satisfied with being a simple trooper who did all the work and got no credit. He wasn’t even happy with being a captain’s bodyguard. Instead, the man had been trying to prove to her that he was more than just muscle. That he could be a good advisor as well. 

“It’s been over two weeks since Captain Lawrence took his company to Starport Cinder.” Athena replied quietly. “He reported that all is well and he is working with Captain Park to set up the defenses, but Colonel Gavin wanted someone outside his unit to go and take a look.”

Leonard paused. His captain’s explanation was quite simple, but he knew there was more to this. Why did Colonel Gavin send Athena instead of one of his own staff? Most likely his captain brought this concern up and then volunteered for the job. But why? 

“Captain Lawrence…” Leonard said quietly, carefully examining Athena in the rearview mirror. “Do you have a grudge against him, sir?”

“Of course not.” Athena denied it instantly. “I am just concerned that he may grow overconfident and neglect his duties. It can never hurt to verify.”

“Perhaps you meant well, captain, but I don’t know if Captain Lawrence will be so understanding.” Leonard hesitantly suggested. “He may see this as a sign of lack of trust from Colonel Gavin. I doubt he will be welcoming us with open arms. This may also cause him to hold a grudge against you, sir…”

“I am merely doing the duties of an Imperial officer by bringing up my justified concerns. If he has a problem with that, then I can’t help but question his loyalty.” Athena countered, playing the character that she had grown used to, and Leonard could only answer that with silence. 

“You worry too much, Leonard.” Johnson chimed in from the side before waving the PEI mounted on the armor of his left forearm. “By the way, sir, are you familiar with Princess Laura?”

Princess Laura…Athena frowned a little. The name was a familiar one from the old Athena’s memories. Princess Laura. Daughter to the Leviathan and the 4th Princess of the Venya Imperium. Nicknamed the Rose of Balleran, the princess was a young woman in her twenties who often wore a suit of elegant silver armor when she led her own fleet, Battlefleet Crimson Rose, to war. She was a renowned commander and an even more famous womanizer. According to the rumors, no doubt spread by her jealous siblings, she had a harem of hundreds of girls. It was a rumor the princess simply smirked at whenever it was brought up in front of her. Many young men and women across the Imperium was her fan, including the former Athena. 

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Athena had seen pictures of the princess, and she had to admit the princess was indeed quite attractive. Given her look, family background, military power, and strategic talent, it was no wonder so many boys and girls dreamt of being with her. 

“Of course,” Athena admitted quietly. 

“Well, there are rumors that she is getting engaged with Countess Bailey of House Rain.” The veteran soldier said with a smile on his face. “What a match! The Rose of Balleran and the Spear of Dayne. The enemies of the Imperium will tremble before them!” 

Athena wasn’t thinking about how funny it was for a veteran soldier to be gossiping about an engagement between two of the most powerful women in the Imperium. Marriages at that level were hardly the product of love. Affairs and one-night stands might be due to physical attraction or even love, but marriage? Her thoughts quickly leaped to the political meaning behind this before Leonard eagerly offered his opinions once again.

“House Rain controls two Imperial Sectors. They hold some of the strongest armadas in the Imperium. Add this to Battefleet Crimson Roses…” Leonard glanced at the mirror once again. 

Athena knew what Leonard left out. Princess Laura was the fourth child of the Leviathan. She wasn’t the Crown Princess. While both she and all her siblings pledged to honor the chain of succession, this engagement might suggest otherwise. An engagement with this amount of publicity could only mean one thing. House Rain had placed its bets on Princess Laura, an odd move for a House as strong as the Rains. There was clearly more behind the scenes, but the message itself was simple. 

However, Athena would be an idiot to follow Leonard’s words as he wished. 

“Indeed. Together, they will crush the enemies of the Imperium.” Once again, Athena put up her mask and tried her best to be a fangirl. 

The vehicle was silent again. Lee kept on driving until the MSV turned around another corner. Just as it was about to exit the valley altogether, Athena gave a silent command. 

She had a few reasons for making this trip, and the main one was to, at long last, summon SCVs into this world and start building her terran bases. 

The satellites were still being installed over the planet’s orbit, but it would only be a week before they were operational. At that point, things would be a lot more restrictive for her. She also knew she couldn’t risk summoning the SCVs inside the city. Maybe she could avoid being associated with the SCVs, but there was no way a 2-meter tall mechanical walker different from anything the Imperium or the Republic had could leave the city undetected. 

Thus, she asked for this trip. 40 miles of rough terrain and the only eyes she had to watch out for were those in the same vehicle as her.

A while ago Athena had asked Nova what the maximum distance she had to be to move a unit from the Game into her world. The answer was 50 meters. She could move units in and out of the game as long as they were within 50 meters of her. 

As soon as the MSV was around 40 meters away from the corner, Athena brought in half a dozen SCVs behind the foot of one of the cliffs that surrounded and formed the valley. The SCVs themselves were completely blocked by the mountain, and the sound of their mechanical bodies hitting the ground was covered by the engine of the scout vehicle. It didn't take long before the unsuspecting driver brought the MSV out of the valley and away from the terran SCVs. 

As the MSV was gone, Athena silently commanded the six SCVs to make their way out of the valley. She directed them toward the east and away from Imperial-controlled territories. 

By the time the MSV arrived at Starport Cinder, the six SCVs were already 30 miles away from the valley where they first spawned in. Athena instructed them to move 20 more miles before searching the surroundings for mineral reserves that could be harvested. This amount of distance would minimize their chances of accidentally being discovered by the Imperials for now while making sure her terran troops could get into position in an acceptable amount of time.

After giving the order, she turned her attention to a rather unhappy host. 

“This is a waste of time for both of us, Captain Dane.” Captain Lawrence commented as he greeted Athena and her men at the gate of Starport Cinder. The young captain was followed by a dozen of his hand-picked elites, many of them equally displeased as Captain Lawrence. The captain gestured at the control towers and hangar bays behind him. “As you can clearly see here, we have turned this place into a fortress.”

“I am afraid I will have to see for myself, captain,” Athena replied quietly. “Lead the way please.” 

“Is there a reason why Colonel Gavin suddenly grew concerned about the defenses of the starport?” Captain Lawrence didn't move. Instead, he raised an interesting question. “Perhaps he heard some rumors from…uncredible sources?”

“Regardless of why this order was given, it can never hurt to be too careful.” Athena countered, ignoring the captain’s suspicion. She went through all the correct procedures, and her concerns were, in all regards, nothing more than products of caution. When she brought her concerns up to Colonel Gavin, the colonel praised her willingness to go above and beyond with her job. She was here by the colonel’s commands. 

The only concern was that maybe Captain Lawrence would indeed dislike her for this visit, not that it would matter. A personal grudge would soon be the least of Captain Lawrence’s worries. 

Despite what Captain Lawrence thought or wanted to do in the future, there was little he could do now but do his job and guide Athena through the Starport’s defenses. 

It didn't take Athena long to realize the starport’s defenses were almost pathetic. Almost all of the defensive structures the Republic built were destroyed during the initial assault on the starport. Many bunkers she came across were turned into wreckage by artillery or RPGs. Anti-air missile launchers and fixed-point artillery turrets were no better. 

To his credit, Captain Lawrence still set up all the patrols and sentries, as the protocols demanded. Athena also noticed a number of sniper and machine gun nests along the way. 

“We have requested resources from the combat engineers, along with the appropriate resources, to fix these fortifications.” Captain Lawrence complained as he noticed Athena’s eyes land on the wreckage. “The division command said we would have to wait. Their resources are tied up with repairing Prosperity. One of them also said there is no threat on this planet that may attack us…” He trailed off, hoping Athena could reach the same conclusion and put an end to this meaningless visit. 

Athena nodded and did her best not to smile. This was great news for her. Yes, maybe the Imperials’ assessment of the situation was correct given what they knew, and maybe they did the most efficient thing, but the fact was that this opened up an opportunity that she could easily abuse. 

Even as she continued examining the extent of the starport’s defenses, Athena could sense one of the SCVs discovering a mineral-rich valley that SCVs could mine from. According to the SCV’s assessments, just the mineral reserve close to the surface could yield 23,000 units of minerals. If they dug deeper, the reserve could be much higher.  

A second later, under Athena’s orders, the SCV placed down a command center and planted the seeds of what would soon be a network of terran bases.  

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