As the last of the Republic marines were captured or terminated, the research outpost belonged to the Venya Imperium once again. Of course, that didn't mean the work was over. If anything, for many involved, the work was just getting started.
Imperial naval commandos took full control of the outpost. Patrols, mainly composed of fresh troops from the second wave who didn't take too many losses in the battle, were set up. A number of combat engineers tried to determine the status of different parts of the outpost, including its perimeter defenses and life support systems. Medics tended to the wounded, friend and foe alike.
A number of naval commandos arrived at the lab and joined the legionnaires in securing Doctor Payton and her research. The legionnaires still maintained the standard level of caution when dealing with the commandos, but they weren't too worried about another betrayal. Naval commandos, as a part of the Imperial Navy, were much more selective than Imperial Army soldiers. It was almost impossible for entire units of them to turn the way the 432nd Company did. Even if there were somehow betrayals, there was too much Imperial presence here to achieve anything.
As the situation was safe, Instigator Kendrick quickly handed the lab to his second in command and left to interface with the commodore leading the small Imperial fleet that reinforced him. The Instigator was a little disappointed to hear the enemy ship, a Republic light cruiser, had managed to escape.
Then again, it was somewhat expected. Even starships at the light cruiser level were built to withstand a ton of punishment, and there was just so much space for a ship to dodge and maneuver. It was often difficult to stop a combat-ready warship from simply fleeing without overwhelming firepower, and the small fleet of three light cruisers didn't have that.
Not wasting much time on what was already done, the Instigator moved on and began interrogating the captives. There were fewer enemies taken alive than he had hoped, but as a veteran himself, he knew it wasn't the fault of the commandos. These targets weren't unarmed civilians or shackled prisoners. They were armed troops more than capable of shooting back, and in many cases, the commandos had to apply lethal force if they didn't want to be gunned down themselves.
Only when the situation was mostly under control did the naval commandos use non-lethal methods like stun grenades and electro-batons whenever possible. By then most of the enemies were already killed in the battle.
With the help of interrogators among the commandos and some of his own legionnaires, Instigator Kendrick was able to get enough information from the captives to piece together a simple picture of what happened.
The rebels were members of the Venya Revolutionary Guard. Many of them started off in other units in the 329th Infantry Division and were gradually rotated into the 432nd Company. The reinforcements they received came from the Republic. More specifically, according to the handful of Republic prisoners taken alive, they came from one of the many black-ops divisions within the United Republic of Dorn.
Their goal was as expected. They were here to kidnap Doctor Payton and take her back to the Republic. The captives didn't know why, but Instigator Kendrick knew there was plenty of value to be extracted from a researcher at the Imperial Research Academy.
Still, it wouldn't make much sense if the Republic went through all this trouble just for a Class D researcher.
Most of the information given up by the captives was more or less expected by the Instigator already, but there was one thing that he was still a little confused by.
Back in the lab, Athena told him about witnessing a beast that attacked a small group of rebel soldiers. Now, the surviving Guard fighters mentioned something similar. Some of them claimed they were attacked by a number of beasts capable of moving underground and using strong acid to dissolve armored troops. These beasts were the reason the Guard troops were so weakened and had no heavy weapons by the time the naval commandos arrived. A number of scenes of carnage across the facility supported this story. In every location, next to melted armor and flesh, there were always fractures in the steel floor that suggested something large had once dug its way out of the ground.
There was no doubt these beasts did exist. The question then became…where were they now?
These acid-spitting beasts somehow dug their way into this outpost and attacked many Guard fighters. And then they just…left? The naval commandos never encountered even a single one of them after deploying into this building.
A little confused, the Instigator coordinated with the leader of the naval commandos and searched the outpost again, but once again they couldn't find any of these beasts. Unsurprising, given by this time Athena had recalled all her roaches already. Even the best detectives wouldn't be able to find them.
A theory formed in the Instigator's head. Most likely, these beasts were a somewhat intelligent race native to Morgo IV. They had been observing the Imperials, and when they saw the mutiny, they took it upon themselves to strike in the midst of the chaos. After killing a number of troops of the Guard, for some reason, they left. Maybe they had satiated their bloodlust. Maybe they were happy with killing so many Imperials and weakening the garrison. Maybe they sensed more threats incoming. Ultimately, they were gone.
These beasts were, without a doubt, a deadly threat. The fate of many rebel troopers was a testament to this fact. That being said, they weren't really Instigator Kendrick's issue anymore.
They weren't going to stay here after what happened. He, along with Doctor Payton, would be tagging a ride with the fleet and heading back to an Imperial world. He had reports to make to his own superiors. A betrayal like this would likely result in plenty of investigations and purging. Doctor Payton would also likely be kept on the world for her own safety. The naval commandos and the fleet wouldn't stay here either. They were a part of the System Defense Fleet, and they wouldn't be stationed on a random world like Morgo IV.
The outpost would be abandoned in the near future. Maybe one day the doctor would return to Morgo IV to continue her research. Maybe the IRA would even be interested in looking into the beasts themselves in the future. But as of now, the Instigator had more important things to worry about than some native beasts.
To his credit, he did take the time to write a few reports on this matter, recording the descriptions of the captives and giving a few suggestions to whoever might be responsible for holding this outpost in the future. Trenches to prevent the beasts from traversing underground. Maybe seismic sensors and reinforced floors. These beasts might be of some interest to the Imperial Research Academy, but the Instigator hardly found them to be as worthy of his attention as treacheries and corruption within the Imperial ranks.
During the battle, a number of soldiers of the 432nd were discovered throughout the facility. Many of them were unarmed and were simply hiding in their living quarters or in other corners of the base. Without exception, the commandos took them captive. In these cases, there was just no way for the Imperials to tell if a soldier was a loyalist who knew nothing about this treachery or a rebel who was trying to save his skin by lying.
Given the Imperium's tendency to rather let an innocent die than let a guilty go, it was only likely that these suspected traitors would be dealt with as if they were confirmed ones. They would be heavily interrogated for anything they might know, and most likely their interrogation would end with a bullet in the head. Just in case.
Luckily, the measures Athena took once again paid off. Neither Instigator Kendrick nor any of his men suspected Athena, the one responsible for foiling the plan by the rebels, of being a traitor.
As a result, when the time finally came to leave the planet of Morgo IV behind, Athena earned herself a spot on one of the Imperial light cruisers.
Athena stepped back to her living quarters on the Minotaur-class light cruiser and let out a sigh.
She knew it was an optimistic thought, but a part of her prayed that being aboard the light cruiser would allow her to unlock the Terran starport. The starport would give her access to a number of powerful Terran spacecraft. Unfortunately, despite wandering around all the parts of the ship she was allowed in over the span of several days, no notification came to her.
It seemed like it would take so much more for the unlock.
"Back from your daily walk?" In the cabin, Adrianna asked as she lay on her bed. A PEI was still in her hand.
Much to her relief, Athena wasn't the only survivor from the 432nd Company. Adrianna was held by the naval commandos for a while, but when Athena got onto the light cruiser, she was joined by her squad member. Uncoincidentally, they were assigned to the same room.
"It's not like there are too many interesting things to do here." Athena made her way to the small bed in a corner of the room that belonged to her. It shouldn't be too surprising that the living conditions on the ship were even worse than in the outpost. At least in the outpost, she had the space to go for a jog. On a warship, space itself was an incredibly expensive resource.
"Well, it could always be worse. Remember the light cruiser that brought us to Morgo IV? A cabin like this had to fit 6 people. One of the worst experiences in my life. Sometimes you just have to be grateful for what you have." Adrianna tried to cheer Athena up before her voice went a little quiet. "Then again, I guess there is nothing to be grateful for when your entire company gets wiped out…although, as one of the two people still alive, I guess I should be grateful. Hmmm…"
Athena glanced at Adrianna. She could see her squad mate wasn't as nonchalant about all that had happened as she tried to pretend to be. Adrianna was a war veteran, but she was still very human. Losing so many comrades, some of whom could even be considered friends, wasn't something she could just get over so soon. Athena herself never got to know her new squad too well during the few short days, but Adrianna had been with them for quite a while.
Even the old Athena had some friends in her squad. Michael and Ren. The old Athena would be quite sad if they suddenly died.
Adrianna let out a sigh before putting down her PEI and turning to Athena.
"I never got to say this, Athena, but I'm grateful for what you did for me. I know I wouldn't be here without you. I will never forget this. If you need something from me in the future, all you gotta do is ask."
Athena's heart jumped a little. What did Adrianna mean? Did she save Adrianna back in the base? As far as Adrianna considered, the answer should be no. Did Adrianna somehow know about her use of the roaches to clear up the Guard rebels?
"Give yourself some credit. You could've made it to the lab without me." She replied, doing her best to act relaxed.
"Maybe," Adrianna said quietly. "But I would've been shot the moment I made it to the lab. Even if I wasn't shot there, I would not have made it onto this ship. I would have ended up like the others who survived the mutiny."
Athena was silent. Now she knew exactly what Adrianna meant. Adrianna wasn't referring to being saved by Athena from the rebels. She was referring to being saved from the purge of the Imperial Security Corps. Adrianna was smart enough to know she was only allowed to live because Athena vouched for her. Athena confirmed Adrianna's actions ever since the uprising happened. If Adrianna was a traitor, then she was really bad at her job.
For most of the other survivors of the 432nd, given that the surveillance footage had all been destroyed by the rebels, it was impossible to know for sure what they did during the uprising. Given the circumstances, that automatically made them guilty.
"It would be quite ironic," Adrianna shrugged and added. "If I survived so many years fighting against the enemies of the Imperium, only to be executed by the Imperium for treason."
Athena didn't reply, and the redhead scoffed and picked up a bottle of drink she got from the storage back in Outpost Delta before they left. "Then again, it was the right thing to do. So many in our unit were traitors. How was anyone supposed to know if we were loyal? Even if we were loyal, just the fact that we weren't able to discover and report the treachery going on around us is enough grounds for our execution. If anything, the others deserved it, and we got lucky. This is just how the Imperium works. And what do I know? I'm just a grunt. Who am I to disagree with the policies of our empire?"
She raised the bottle and spoke before starting to drink. "Cheers. Glory to the Imperium!"
As the conversation came to an end, Athena tapped her chin. It was obvious Adrianna was quite bitter about how the Imperium treated its soldiers, but what could she do? She was just a trooper. If she refused to fight, she would be executed. If she tried to desert and got caught, she would be executed. If she tried to protest how things were done in the Imperium, she would be punished and maybe executed. The only option she had if she didn't want a likely painful death was to give in. To fight for the regime that treated her like a slave.
This was the reality for so many within the Imperium. If you can't leave it, love it.
Honestly, this was good news for Athena. She knew she was getting out of the Imperial Army as soon as she had a good chance to do so. Despite only knowing Adrianna for a short while, Athena shared an odd friendship with the redhead. It was good to know Adrianna had no real love for the Imperium either.