For one reason or another, the corporal answered any question Athena asked. The first thing he confessed was his true identity. As far as Athena and the queen could tell, he wasn't lying.
"We are members of the Venya Revolutionary Guard. All of us in the squad are, except for you, Ren, and Michael."
"My Queen?" The Zerg queen was a little confused by the unfamiliar name. If they were talking about the Terran Dominion or the Protoss Empire, she would be quite knowledgeable, but at this point, her understanding of the various factions in this galaxy was nonexistent.
"It's a group that opposes the Venya Imperium. I will give you more details later." Athena replied to the queen silently. She couldn't really talk to the queen and the corporal at the same time, and she didn't want to halt the interrogation now. Of course, she recognized the name. It was a name neither she nor anyone in the sector should be unfamiliar with.
"Who else in the company is part of the Guard?" She demanded quietly. Nine troopers from a squad of twelve, including the squad leader, were secretly traitors. This was bad.
"I don't know the exact number, but I know we have more than enough on our side to complete our mission on this planet." Corporal Huo carefully scanned Athena's face for any reactions he could potentially use.
"And what mission is that?"
"Doctor Payton." Corporal Huo replied. "The lady from the Imperial Research Academy. It turns out that she is kind of a big deal in the eyes of certain people, people who are willing to give a lot in exchange for her. Our job is to help kidnap her."
Athena frowned. If Doctor Payton was indeed such an important person, then why was she sent here with only a single company as protection? Sure, she still had legionnaires from the Imperial Security Corps as protection, but it was only a single combat squad. 12 men. As far as Athena knew, researchers who were truly considered valuable to the Imperium often had entire divisions following them around as protection. In an age where technology meant power, they were worth the cost.
Then again, if someone in a position to coordinate such an operation believed otherwise, perhaps they knew something she didn't.
"What is the plan?" Athena pushed. An operation this secretive likely had a premeditated strategy that officers like Corporal Huo were clued in on. These men here were conspiring to betray the Imperium in one of the worst ways possible. They couldn't afford the consequences of failure.
Corporal Huo glanced at Athena again. He knew his chance of escaping this alive was low, but the chance was still there, and to seize that opportunity, he needed to be honest for now. That was why he made no attempt to deceive Athena.
"Ever since we landed on this planet, we have been using expedition missions like this one to weed out loyalists among our ranks. We took them by surprise and executed them in the wild. When we returned to base, we made it look like they were lost to the environment outside."
"That's why you tried to shoot me." Athena nodded. That would explain the sudden betrayal. She was no longer the old Athena, but the rest of the squad didn't know that. They thought she was still the same loyalist as before, and that made her a threat that had to be terminated.
"Yes. If we had known…" The corporal's voice trailed off before continuing with the plan. "There will always be some moving parts, but here are the basics. When the time comes, a small Republic task force will arrive over this planet's orbit. At the same time, we will act and use the surprise to control the armory and the hangar. This prevents the Imperials from having any chance of calling for help or putting up an effective defense. Once that is done, if possible, we will advance to the lab and go after Doctor Payton. The Republic task force will deploy its ground troops and help us break the defense of the loyalists if needed. When this is all over, we join the Republic forces and leave this world behind. By the time the Imperials realize what happened, we would be long gone."
Athena tapped her fingers thoughtfully. This was a good plan, not necessarily because the person who came up with it was a genius but more so because the Imperial loyalists had all the disadvantages in the world to begin with. They would be outgunned, possibly outnumbered, and completely taken by surprise. The plan was very straightforward, but then again most good plans were.
Corporal Huo saw the thoughtful expression on Athena's face and secretly took a breath of relief. Given the interest the young woman was showing, his plan might actually work!
"Look, Athena…" He continued. "What happened here was unfortunate, but we don't have to remain enemies! If…if we go back to the base together, I can tell my superiors that you are an ally. Stay with us, help us take down the Imperials, and we can leave this world and the Imperial Army behind!"
Athena gave no reply, and the corporal kept on pushing, raising his voice in the process. As far as he could see, his chances of surviving were getting higher and higher. "Aren't you tired of all this bullshit in the Army, Athena? With what you can do with these beasts, you can get so much more than a life of being a slave to an Imperium that doesn't give a shit about us! We are just numbers to them! Numbers! Nothing more! If you want to leave the Imperial Army in one piece, this is your best chance!"
Athena didn't give the nearly frenzy man an immediate reply. Instead, she asked another question. "Who is the leader of the rebels in the company? Captain Hanson? One of the sergeants?"
"I…I don't know." Corporal Huo was clearly disappointed by Athena's question. "I promise! I get my orders from Sergeant Louis. He is one of us."
Maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe he wasn't. Athena made no reaction and proceeded to ask a few more questions. The planned date of the operation. More names of undercover Guard members. Whether they had assets inside the Imperial Security Corps combat squad. Whether Instigator Kendrick leading the combat squad was in on it as well. The corporal answered some and claimed ignorance with others.
As she went on, the corporal became less and less inclined to give her answers.
"Look, we need to get back to base as soon as possible, Athena." The man finally stated, doing his best to keep his voice calm. "If we're too much behind schedule, others will ask questions. Once we get back to base, I can guarantee you will be given all the information you want. I promise you will make it to the Republic ship alive!"
The corporal was getting restless, and Athena likewise dropped her facade as well. She let a scoff climb onto her face and countered with a simple question.
"And, tell me, corporal. What will happen to me after I end up in the hands of the Republic?"
The corporal's face suddenly turned pale, but he still did his best to act like he was on her side. "Don't worry about that, Athena. As I said, I will explain to the Republic that you're on our side…"
"That is not what I'm concerned about. Maybe you're aware of it. Maybe you're not. It doesn't matter." Athena turned and glanced at the Zerg units beside her, more specifically the queen. After a brief pause, she issued a single silent command. "Kill him. Do it quickly."
The corporal couldn't hear the command, and before he knew what was going on, the Zerg queen attacked without a moment of hesitance. A single spine pierced the corporal's skull, ending his life quickly and relatively painlessly.
As the body hit the ground, Athena let out a sigh and sat down on the ground as well. She quietly turned to the Zerg queen who seemed to have a lot of questions.
She started by giving some context to the queen.
"The Venya Revolutionary Guard is an organization mainly composed of citizens of the Venya Imperium who sought to liberate the people of the Imperium from their oppressive overlords and build a democratic society similar to the United Republic of Dorn. As their name states, they are revolutionaries. Or…that's what they claim to be." She explained.
"According to the Imperial media, the so-called Revolutionary Guard is nothing more than a terrorist cell filled with the most mentally-deranged and traitorous individuals in the entire Imperium. Its ranks are staffed with rapists, murderers, thieves, and psychopaths, and its sole purpose of existence is to weaken the Imperium from within on behalf of foreign forces like the United Republic of Dorn. Allegedly, the Republic funds the Guard and secretly trains its members. According to the Imperium, almost any derogatory term can be used to accurately describe the Guard."
Athena scoffed. She could sense the hatred the old Athena harbored toward the Guard, a hatred forged by decades of propaganda. If the old Athena had her way, she would want to burn every single person associated with the Guard and all their family members for all the crimes the Guard committed against the glorious Imperium. In her eyes, only the most mentally crippled individuals would even dream of marching against the Imperial cause, and death was a mercy for these people.
Luckily, it was her in the driver's seat, and she was able to approach the issue much more objectively. She didn't think the Guard was this completely selfless organization full of heroes, but she didn't believe it was as villainess as the obviously biased Imperium claimed. Like many things, the reality was probably somewhere in between.
The queen took some time to silently process the information. As she finished, Athena turned to the Zerg. "You have more questions."
"That is correct, my Queen." The Zerg unit gestured at the corporal's body. "I sense this human has been telling the truth. If you return to Outpost Delta with him, you will be able to join the winning side with the Guard while collecting more resources during the slaughter. It will give you a significant tactical advantage."
The queen did execute Corporal Huo because this was her order, but that didn't mean she necessarily believed it was the right thing to do.
Athena nodded gently. It seemed like her understanding of the lore was quite correct. Zerg queens were suitable tactical commanders, but they weren't too talented with more complicated strategies. This was, of course, by design. Like all Zerg units, when they were first created, the queens were only as smart as they needed to be to do their job. Anything beyond that would be a waste of resources.
Luckily, the queens' ability to learn far exceeded that of the drone or the zerglings.
"I am sure if I go back with him and he tells his fellow Guard members what happened out here, I will be welcomed by the Guard with open arms. Hell, I'll be protected, even. Maybe they'll go as far as abandoning the mission completely and just focus on getting me on the Republic ship out of here, but…then what? If I am planning to betray them, why would I show my hands and alert them of what I am capable of? If I am going along with them and leaving this planet with the Guard, what happens then?"
"As far as the corporal saw, I can summon dangerous beasts out of thin air and control these beasts to fight for me. Either of those two is likely beyond anything the galaxy has seen. Hoping that he will keep my secret for me is…optimistic. The Republic may let the Guard soldiers go free, but me? Once they know what I can do, it will all be over for me. Hell…they'll probably take me to their capital and throw me in their most heavily guarded cell. They will interrogate and experiment with me until they can find a way to control or duplicate my powers."
She scoffed again. "Just because the Republic and the Guard fight against an oppressive Imperium doesn't make them heroes. The Republic is a nation of a hundred sectors with its own culture, politics, and goals. If they are given the opportunity at significant technological advancements, and at the expense of a random Imperial soldier, you can bet they'll do whatever it takes to extract every ounce of value from me."
"If I have an infestor here, or even an overseer for a changeling, I may be able to do something about this and control what the corporal says or does. As of now?" Athena shook her head. "I'll have to settle with the information he gave me. That is why the corporal can't be allowed to live."
She bit her lips and stood back up. Like she said to the corporal, maybe this was a part of the man's plan all along to save himself and potentially get quite a hefty reward by giving her to the Republic. Maybe the corporal was only looking to save his own skin by turning her to their side. Either way, it didn't matter. Let the corporal return to the base and tell the others what he saw, and she would be in for a world of trouble.
Athena was no fool. The Starcraft units were her best chance of survival, but they could also lead to targets being painted on her back. Maybe one day she would show her secret to people she truly trusted, but Corporal Huo, someone who was trying to kill her just minutes ago? It would be absurd for her to place her life in his hands.
The Zerg queen took a moment to process Athena's words. "I understand, my Queen. He is a threat to your safety. Therefore he cannot be allowed to live."
"Yeah, something like that. If I let him live, I would have to die." The young woman sighed to herself. She scanned the carnage around her once again before slowly returning to the driver's seat of one of the MSVs. As she leaned back against the seat, she did her best to force her attention away from the massacre and toward what her next steps would be.
The Imperial base she thought was relatively safe was infiltrated by the Venya Revolutionary Guard. If the corporal was telling the truth, then within four standard days, they, with the help of a Republic task force, would launch an attack on the base from within, slaughtering the Imperial loyalists and kidnapping Doctor Payton.
The question was simple. What role would she play in this incident?