Athena stepped into the command center once again, this time in her own body and followed by Click and Dash. The first thing she saw was a panicked Major Stanz walking circles in front of the communication console he had been working at. He didn't seem too happy. Rum quickly explained to Athena why.
"Sir, he has sent the messages. The two battalions have replied and confirmed that they will be complying with the orders. However, the 5th Armored Brigade has made no reply so far."
"The 5th Armored Brigade is under the command of the 56th Legion." The major did his best to explain the reason behind his failure. "I am trying to contact the Legionary Command, but I don't think I will be able to get them to recall the reinforcements. At least not before the 5th Brigade arrives!"
"And how far away is this brigade?" Athena asked.
"10 minutes? 20?" Major Stanz estimated. "They were deployed not long ago. We still have time, sir! If the Imperium can call in air strikes and further ground reinforcements, we can still capitalize on this opportunity!"
Athena ignored the major and walked up to one of the command consoles. Major Stanz took a step toward Athena hoping to convince who he saw as a newly arrived Imperial officer, but two marines quickly stopped him in his tracks.
"Is this close enough?" Athena whispered to the adjutant.
"Affirmative, commander." There was a pause. "I am currently linked to the Decima Defense Network via this terminal. I will not be able to maintain this access without being near a terminal. However, with your permission, I will download all available information for future use."
"Permission granted." Athena nodded. "While you're at it, give me a snapshot of what is going on between the Decima and the Imperial forces. They have been fighting throughout the night. Who's winning?"
Her next decision would depend on the course of the war between the Imperium and the Kingdom. She had pondered the idea of sending a few roaches to where the battle was the heatest to scout and collect resources, but she decided against this idea. Given the intensity of the firepower in those areas, there was a decent chance for roaches to be killed by explosions even if they were underground. If the roaches were discovered, both sides would have a lot of questions. In a war between two human factions, where did a three-meter tall underground xenomorph that could spit acid come from?
And if the connection was made to the underground beasts from Research Outpost Delta, Athena could very well find a target on her back.
"Accessing data now…data accessed. Forming a report now. 1.56 standard hours ago, the Decima Royal Legion launched an assault on Imperial Landing Zones designed Alpha, Beta, Lemma, Omega, and Victor, using weapons including long-range hypersonic missiles, stealth bombers, and artillery units. Approximately 34 Standard and Auxiliary Legions were deployed into combat. Imperial presence at landing zones Beta, Lemma, and Victor was eradicated. The Decima Legions have also suffered heavy losses in the process."
Athena sighed to herself. Landing Zone Lemma was where she and the rest of the 329th Infantry Division were supposed to go. It was also where Alex, Sato, and the other survivors of the crash landing went. Knowing how landing battles worked, it was unlikely the Imperial units at Landing Zone Lemma had a way out. It was likely everyone there was killed or captured.
The adjutant continued explaining. This location belonged to the 14th Legion, which was one of the main legions fighting in the front, and as such regiments in the legion were given access to a lot of real-time battle reports.
"At the same time, the Imperium has been deploying reinforcements to Landing Zones Alpha and Omega. 0.87 hours ago, a warning was given to all Decima units that the Imperial Navy was beginning to acquire orbital dominance over the battlefield and to practice caution. 0.32 hours ago, a small number of Imperial heavy transports landed at Landing Zone Omega. It is estimated there are at least 4 armored divisions present at Landing Zone Omega as of now."
"The Imperium is breaking through." Athena understood what this meant. The Decima forces have launched a huge counterattack that exhausted most of its available units in the area, and it had failed to push the Imperial forces off the planet despite numerous losses. Not only so, but Decima's naval and anti-orbit measures were also beginning to fail.
It was unlikely the Decima Royal Navy would be destroyed, but if its forces were pushed away from the landing zones, Imperial ships could freely deploy reinforcements, send bombers and fighters, and fire missiles at Decima ground positions.
"The Decima Royal Legion still has a number of missile bases and starports near the region." The adjutant added. "The Imperium has an upper hand, but it will take time before they have full control over the battlefield."
"The downloading is complete, commander. A number of security protocols were encountered but bypassed. If you would like, I can attempt to access more classified information in the network, but it will take time." The adjutant reported before adding. "A secured message was just sent to this base from the 56th Legion Command. The 5th Armored Brigade's mission is unchanged."
Almost at the same time, Major Stanz saw the message as well. "56th Legion Master Winchester…damn it! They're still coming here!" He snapped to Adrianna, who he still thought was the commanding officer here despite not doing much since entering. "Sir, we need to act now! It may also be safer if we get out of here as soon as possible…"
At the same time as Major Stanz was panicking, Athena had made up her mind as well.
The Terran forces had finished exploring the airfield a while ago, and it became clear this airfield wasn't enough to unlock the Terran starport. Unfortunate, but in hindsight understandable. The Overlord and Overwatch gunships stored in Airfield Sigma were almost exclusively used for in-atmosphere combat, and they likely lacked the variety and technology needed for an unlock.
Luckily, Athena had more options available. The adjutant had collected a lot of information on other Decima locations, including starports that likely held starfighters and starbombers and even planetside shipyards that produced starfighters and smaller ships. If she could infiltrate the shipyards and acquire schematics, she stood a decent chance of unlocking the Terran starport.
In the worst case, she and Adrianna, and maybe a few Terran bodyguards, would disguise themselves as refugees and flee to the Decima cities yet to have been taken. If possible, she would find a way to smuggle off the planet. If not, she would try to assume a new identity and settle down for a while.
Eventually, this war would end with one side holding Sierra Prime, and transportation would resume. No faction could afford to blockade a world as populated as Sierra Prime forever.
Plus, this area was getting much more dangerous for her with the Imperial forces likely to push forward soon and more Decima reinforcements arriving. Now that she took a major airfield, it was likely the Decima forces would be looking for her Terran forces too. She had also acquired samples of most of the standard Decima weapons so new unlocks would be difficult.
In other words, she was leaving this place behind.
But before that, she had something she needed to take care of.
"Adjutant. Do you have the location of the different units in this regiment?"
"Affirmative, commander."
"Can you plot a path for me to take without running into these units?"
"Affirmative. These units are scattered through an area of hundreds of kilometers squared. Evading them will be simple."
"Good." Athena turned to the marines, marauders, and reapers. "Blow up all the command infrastructures here. Destroy everything electronic in this room."
When it came to the Decima soldiers she took prisoner, Athena was fine with releasing them as soon as it was safe to do so. This was what she had in mind with these officers as well. Perhaps some might see this as her being soft, but Athena wasn't greedy enough for resources that she would gun down defenseless prisoners who had surrendered already just for the income. Now, if these prisoners posted a threat to her and she had no choice, that would be a different story.
There was no way she could bring these prisoners with her. If she left these officers live, they would be released when the 5th Armored Brigade arrives. Colonel Decker might be dead, but the majors in command of the battalions were still here. They could easily regain control of the regiment and potentially try to hunt her down. The chances that she would be caught were quite low, but she wanted to further decrease the chances by destroying this command center. By the time the command staff gets the infrastructure back online and re-establish communication with the individual units, she would be long gone.
A few steps away, Major Stanz froze in confusion, and that confusion turned to anger when he heard what Athena said next.
"Tie him up and leave him with the others."
At that moment, the major snapped. This wasn't how things were supposed to go! He helped these Imperials! Why would they betray him like this? These…these honorless traitors! He knew he would be a dead man if he was left here. If he was lucky, he would be court-martialed when the 5th Brigade learned what he did. If he wasn't, he would be shot on the spot.
In a moment of utter fear and anger, the major turned and leaped toward the pile of confiscated sidearms on the other end of the room, only to be hit in the face by one of the three reapers guarding the pile. The punch knocked the man to the floor and was enough to put some sense into the man.
"Just say the word, sir." The reaper turned to Athena as he pressed his gauss pistols against the major's chest and head. The eager tone in his voice made Athena's skin crawl.
"Tie him up." She simply repeated her previous command. She knew what fate awaited the major, not that she had any sympathy for him. She wouldn't kill him, but she wouldn't save him either.
As he was restrained, Major Stanz tried a lot of things. He tried to appeal to Athena and remind her what he could do for the Imperium. When that failed, he begged, hoping Athena would pity him. When even that failed, he began desperately cursing at her until one of the marines had enough and punched him in the face. The blow from the armored fist knocked off several of the man's teeth and finally shut him up.
As Athena, Adrianna, and the Terran forces left, the other officers in the command center turned to Major Stanz and the handful of officers who backed him up. Colonel Decker might have received his appointment due to nepotism, but he was still a decent leader to serve under.
None of them could do anything now, but once they were freed, they would make sure the colonel's murderers pay the price.
After leaving what was left of Airfield Sigma, Athena headed South, recalling all the Terran units back into the game to make herself a smaller target, not that anyone was really pursuing them. The adjutant was able to help them avoid any Decima unit along the way.
After an hour or so, they came across an abandoned farmstead. Most likely the owners fled as soon as the Imperial dropships started coming down from the sky. Athena and Adrianna, both exhausted, decided to stay in the two-floor house on the farm and get some rest. Athena called in her Terran units to stand guard and make sure no one would sneak up on them when they rested.
Athena had to admit she took a breath of relief when she finally got to remove her power armor and lay down on a sofa she found in the living room.
"The water is still on," Adrianna said as she emerged from the bathroom on the first floor. "You mind if I shower first?"
"Sure, go for it."
As the bathroom door closed, Athena closed her eyes. It was a strange feeling. On one hand, she was exhausted and she felt like her brain would shut down the moment she closed her eyes. On the other hand, countless things, big and small, were constantly going through her head.
A lot had happened in the last 24 hours. She went from an Imperial infantry captain to…what was she now? A rebel? A third party? Not that the name mattered. She had used her Terran forces to kill hundreds, and she was well compensated for it. She had unlocked multiple new Terran units and acquired a lot of resources. In fact, she had made more progress in less than a day than she did in six months.
That being said, there were still many challenges waiting for her in the near future. Blending in with the local populace would take some work. They had no identities on this planet, something she would have to find a way to use the adjutant to rectify. Luckily they had some credits. Athena remembered seeing Adrianna going through the wallets of the Decima officers in the command center. Hopefully, that was enough money to last them a while.
After that, they still had to find a way out of this world. It would be quite the work as well.
"Adjutant," She whispered. "Go through the files you've got and look for Decima assets that are likely to unlock the starport. Try to sort them by the level of defenses they have. Click, wake me up in 6 hours if I'm not up by then."
"Affirmative. Computing now…" There was a pause that lasted a few seconds. "Computation complete. Target 1: Starport Dogma. Target 2…"
There was no response aside from the asleep Athena.