Chapter 9: Chapter 9: The Corporal and the Private

“Corporal Kendrick, sir.”

Upon recognizing the officer, Athena immediately stood up at attention. This was something she knew her former self would do. She was starting to understand why her former self had few friends within the company. Even she was getting a little annoyed.

As she faced the officer from the ISC, Athena quickly went through her options. Her original plan was to prove that she wasn’t a rebel by fighting against the rebels in front of Doctor Payton or the Wolves. Now that she got to meet the corporal, she had a much better way to prove her loyalty.

“At ease, soldier.” Corporal Kendrick scanned Athena from top to bottom before showing Athena something he was holding onto. It was a PEI, personal electronic interface. It was similar to a combination of phones and iPads, but of course with additional features.

The corporal pressed on the screen a few times before setting the PEI flat in his palm. A 3D hologram projection was lit up in front of Athena. She immediately recognized it to be her own personal profile. Everything about her was there. Her first and last name. Her age. The combat reports that involved her. Her family background. Everything.

“Let’s see here…private Athena Dane. Six years of service already, all in frontline combat roles. Your superiors often called you courageous and decisive. Of course, sometimes you can be a little rash. Just a little too eager to give your life for the Imperium.”

“Yes sir. Such is my duty.” Athena did her best to put up a convincing act.

“Indeed. We owe everything we have to the Imperium, and it is only fair we give everything in return.” Corporal Kendrick said quietly. He might have started as a common trooper, but as someone who was made a squad leader among the Wolves, his zeal in the Imperium was unquestionable.

Coincidentally, this was one of the reasons that he was even more intrigued in what was going on with Athena after going through her files. By all accounts, Athena would be a good candidate for the Wolves if she was still alive in four years. He also had a certain respect for her on a personal level due to their shared loyalty. It would be a shame for someone like her to have her life wasted by a corrupt officer.

“I went through your mission report. You said one of the troopers threw a grenade that caught the attention of predators in the jungle, correct? In that case, I’m sure you won’t mind if I go over some more details with you.”

Athena stood there for a moment and forced a look of conflict onto her face. When she didn't answer, Corporal Kendrick looked up at her, a little confused by the lack of response.

Before he came here to see Athena, he took a trip to Captain Hanson’s office. The Captain didn't seem to be too happy to receive a visit from him. A corporal of the ISC was completely different from a corporal of the Imperial Army. As an overseer sent to the unit to represent the Leviathan’s authority, Corporal Kendrick could execute almost anyone if it could be justified.

For most of the time here, Corporal Kendrick stayed with Doctor Payton. He rarely visited the captain’s office in person.

Captain Hanson looked nervous, and even a little scared. If Athena knew this, she would realize the captain was scared because he thought Corporal Kendrick found out about his treason and came to confront him, but the corporal was missing this information and simply took the fear as nothing out of the ordinary.

He asked Captain Hanson about Athena and why the captain had her imprisoned when there was no proof that she was a deserter. In fact, the captain didn't even try to interrogate her. Captain Hanson’s response was conflicted and disorganized, and the corporal quickly realized the captain had no real justification for doing so.

When he first came to see Athena, he had made up his mind that Athena was wrongfully imprisoned. The back-and-forth questioning he did was just to make sure he didn't make a mistake. Corporal Kendrick had always been a cautious man. This was how he survived long enough to be invited into the Corps.

But, to his surprise, Athena didn't seem to be so eager to prove her innocence. Instead, after a few seconds of thought, she looked at him with a solemn look on her face.

“Can I trust you, sir?”

Corporal Kendrick frowned. “Talk, private. I don’t have time to waste here.”

You are reading story The Starcraft System in the Far Future at novel35.com

Athena looked up at the security camera in her cell, knowing the camera was paired with a microphone. Corporal Kendrick’s brows darkened, but he clicked on his PEI a few times and temporarily shut off the camera and the microphone. He didn't fear for his safety. Athena was no doubt a good soldier, but Kendrick had killed countless good soldiers before, power armor or not.

Luckily for Corporal Kendrick, Athena didn't go through all of this trouble to kill him.

As she turned back to Corporal Kendrick, Athena took a deep breath. She knew there could be grave consequences to this. Even if everything worked as planned, many of the rebels here might die because of her. Once again, she respected their cause, but when their cause threatened her life…she was never a selfless person. Rather than accepting her fate and dying in this base, she wanted to actually do something with the Starcraft System and her life. She wanted to see the worlds out there with her own eyes. She wanted to taste the different foods in the galaxy. Observe the different technologies invented over the past 700 years.

And all that required her to sabotage whatever the rebels were planning and prove her loyalty to Corporal Kendrick and thus the Imperium. She needed the corporal to trust her and vouch for her after everything was over.

What was going to happen wasn’t a conflict of ideology. It was a matter of survival.

“Corporal, I have reason to believe many, if not most, soldiers in the company have been turned against the Imperium. This likely includes Captain Hanson.” Athena said, this time staring into Corporal Kendrick’s eyes and praying to god the man could see she was telling the truth. She told him a modified version of what happened in the field.

Instead of saying she killed her squad with zerglings, drones, and queens, Athena claimed she witnessed Corporal Huo and his fellow traitors execute Michael and Ren in the forest while she was trying to find them again after being lost. After that, she engaged in hit-and-runs against the traitors and eventually killed them all. They did have superior firepower, but in certain situations, skill meant much more than numbers. Athena recounted how she placed careful and accurate shots that damaged the power armor of the traitors, leaving them to a painful death at the hands of the toxic gas all around them.

The leader of the garrison here has turned against the Imperium? That’s impossible! This was Corporal Kendrick’s first reaction, but the first lesson in the ISC was that anyone could be a traitor. Lords, admirals, and generals alike have turned against the Imperium before for one reason or another. Was it so absurd to think a captain decided to betray the symbol on his uniform?

At the same time, if what Athena said was true, then someone at a high level in the 329th Infantry Division had been gradually corrupting this company and replacing casualties with traitors. They were waiting for an opportunity like this where a small unit was required to protect an important target.

Now, the number of infantry divisions present in Sector 9A2 was beyond numerous. An average populated planet could have over 4,000 infantry, mechanized, and armored divisions. Still, a traitor who had swayed over an infantry division was a big threat, the same type of threat the ISC was tasked with neutralizing.

“Your accusations are possible but unlikely.” He said slowly. Unlike some of the more arrogant officers, he actually treated what Athena said seriously. “With all due respect to Doctor Payton, she is not a high-ranking researcher within the IRA. In fact, her research is…frowned upon due to a complete lack of progress in the past years. Someone capable of setting this up has to be one of the commanders in the 329th Infantry Division. Why would they expose themselves for…”

He didn't finish, but Athena knew what he meant. It was like trading a queen for a castle. Not a worthless deal, but still far from good.

“That is up to you to find out, Corporal. I am just a trooper.” Athena said quietly. She didn't have the answer, and she didn't need it. All she wanted was for Corporal Kendrick to understand that she was one of the good guys. If he could find a way to call for reinforcements and handle the rebels without endangering her, that would be preferable as well.

“I must warn you, Corporal. I am almost certain Captain Hanson is aware of your visit to me. If I am right, then we may not have much time to waste.” She added. Captain Hanson didn't even bother trying to stop Corporal Kendrick from seeing her. This meant the captain was fine with the corporal discovering the truth. He must be very prepared.

Corporal Kendrick stood there and stared into Athena’s eyes. It was possible Athena was just an insane deserter who was using lies to try to turn her superiors against each other and get herself out of trouble, but to what end? If this turned out to be a false accusation, Athena would still be punished eventually. In fact, her punishment would be a lot graver if she tricked an officer of the ISC.

Corporal Kendrick wasn’t an indecisive person. Of course, it would be foolish if he just arrested Captain Hanson based on the words of a prisoner. But there was nothing stopping him from calling in some help from the local Imperial Navy forces. If nothing was going on, it would just be an extra trip for the reinforcements. If something was up, then the reinforcements could make all the difference.

“For your own sake, I hope you are telling the truth. If your accusations prove to be true, then I will see that you are properly rewarded for your loyalty.”

The corporal left a cold warning before turning and making his way out of the detention center. He came to Athena expecting to solve some injustice. Now, he was almost praying Captain Hanson was just an incompetent but loyal officer.

You can find story with these keywords: The Starcraft System in the Far Future, Read The Starcraft System in the Far Future, The Starcraft System in the Far Future novel, The Starcraft System in the Far Future book, The Starcraft System in the Far Future story, The Starcraft System in the Far Future full, The Starcraft System in the Far Future Latest Chapter