Though delayed for an hour and a half, the shuttle finally took off and headed for Devastis. Security was tighter than usual, the shuttle landed not at the main spaceport, but a secondary, most unusual. At landing, two IIA officers in full armor were waiting, letting various passengers off, until Vult and the others were all that remained. "Commander Vult, Lieutenant Kazak, Corporal Hesa, and Sergeant Tuu?" One of them asked, only to get a nod of affirmation from Kazak. "Sergeant Ayot, Internal Affairs, stay in the shuttle, you're being diverted." The other officer went to the cockpit of the shuttle and ordered the pilot to take off and head for the main spaceport.
The Sergeant sat down across from them. "Captain Corr said you would be arriving from Irk. Once you popped up on the manifests, we knew we had to come grab you as quickly as possible and divert you to the latest site."
"Latest?" Kazak asked.
"Yes, Lieutenant. The rest of your team were caught up at a motorpool fire. While they were busy over there, an explosion rocked the spaceport. We're bringing you over so you can get started on looking into this. Rest of your unit's on the way." The Sergeant turned to Vult, "Commander, you have the full support of Internal Affairs while you're here. This has been ongoing for a month and a half now. The Tallest are starting to become concerned on what's taking so long for this problem to go away. I don't think I'd need to remind you of how important this planet is...but it's making it much harder for us to do our jobs as well with as many resources as we've had to divert here."
Vult squashed the immediate response to seek an exit once the Internal Affairs officers queried their identities. Maybe it was tied to what had transpired on Irk and news traveled fast. Maybe they were to apprehend them...or put them down for being traitors...whatever the case may be, it quickly passed once Sergeant Ayot explained what was happening in detail.
The primary spaceport had been attacked and suffered damage...from something. That explained the hour and half delay and secondary diversion on approach. The mention of Corr and the others being involved garnered his undivided attention...and his mind raced on their status.
Remaining calm and letting his methodical ways take over and run on autopilot, he turned his attention to the Internal Affairs officer addressing them.
"Do you have a compiled report of what has happened since the arrival of my team? Anything of use, dates, times, locations, targets, casualty and damage reports. We are coming in blind on this one."
Ayot pulled out a datapad and hooked it into a computer on his vambrace, pulling up the necessary reports for a download and handing it off to Vult. He was already briefed on their team's security clearance, well above what he was asking for. It spelled out a slew of incidents: some cloning facilities with Irken awaiting activation, warehouses, motorpool sabotage, high ranking officers assassinated with a mass driver sniper rifle including one on the Academy's grounds, the most recent motorpool fire and spaceport sabotage are included, though are marked as open reports. Whoever's been working on Devastis has been crafty. Knowing where to hit them where it hurt, but spacing them out enough to keep Corr and the others guessing, and keep from having massive concentrations of troops finding them.
Definitely professionals…
Vult studied the offered information diligently. A few extra keystrokes of the haptic interface on the datapad forwarded the reports wirelessly to Kazak, Tuu, and Hesa for their own review. Scrolling occasionally, his blue eyes scanned line after line of each report. Attached images were reviewed. This wasn't internal sabotage. Imperial Troopers, Irken Elite, and even Spec Ops in training were not so clean and thorough...or smart enough to operate undetected under the radar for so long.
The manner in which these acts were carried out...he saw far too many similarities to how he and his fellow officers on the team would have planned, coordinated, and dictated. It was as if they were studying their own after-action reports. In and out, undetected, thorough, precise, and highly effective. To have kept Corr and the others in the dark this long and chasing their antenna spoke volumes of their talents.
"...the sniper attacks…" He finally spoke, focusing on those bits of information in particular. "Is there anything specific you have recovered as far as the exact make and model of the weapon? Any recovered projectiles or fragments? Metallurgy reports? Anything?"
Kazak looked it over on a separate pad, being without his armor made him feel more at ease, though they were in a situation where they didn't need it...he looked at the attacks in particular. While browsing the assassination of the General, he found a slug fragment and looked it over. "I actually think I saw this one before. I haven't been shot at something like this in particular since Praxxus when we were there the first time."
Tuu glanced over, "You talking a Vortian Type Thirty Eight?"
"Exactly. Take a look at the rifling, matches up exactly."
Tuu blinked, "I thought those things were long out of service."
"They are," Kazak replied, "Only ones who would have access to a rifle like that are Vortian civilians or special forces."
Hesa looked to the two marksmen, "You think we might be dealing with Vortians then?"
"Personally?" Kazak started, "I'm willing to place a decent wager on it. Unless these weapons are already getting smuggled out from our occupied areas."
"I concur with the Lieutenant. I'm thinking this has to be Vortian SF we're after."
Ayot seemed surprised they came to that conclusion, "Two Vortians on Devastis would stick out like a sore thumb. How are they pulling this off?"
Vult sighed, scrolling more rapidly for a cursory glance over other bits of intelligence absent-mindedly as he spoke. "Considering the Empire is beyond committed to conquering their homeworld, it doesn't come as a surprise they would send operatives to meddle in Imperial affairs. Same page exists in the Spec Ops playbook."
He closed the reports, looking up to Ayot.
"As for how they have remained undetected this long, we can speculate all day long. Assuming they are in fact VDF operatives of some caliber, we are speaking of the universe's most technologically-advanced species. Anything is possible. Educated guess would be mobile stealth field technology. We can barely get it to function at the vehicle level...maybe they have it at the individual soldier level."
That last statement was a boldfaced lie knowing that their own standard operation kit was capable of that. The more details that came to light, the more troubling the situation became. Devastis had been compromised by highly-trained Vortian special forces and were running amok, unopposed. A most troubling thought.
"There's something that bugs me," Tuu spoke as the shuttle started its descent, "Vortians are advanced. Why are they using mass drivers?"
Kazak had a theory, "Consider if Irk itself was being invaded. Wouldn't we break out our old tech to fight back? My guess, things go any longer on Vort, they might have to break out old powder ballistic weapons. Now those are ancient." The Lieutenant stood and walked out once the doors opened, an entire terminal came crashing down, as well as structural damage to the control tower that forced it to be evacuated some time ago after all traffic was finally diverted to the secondary spaceport.
Hesa looked out, Imperial Troopers and civilians were at work bagging the wounded dead and identifying even those who would otherwise live but lost limbs as well. Anyone who was only deemed 'mildly' injured were sent off to get patched up and sent back to work. "I think we may need Rha to take a look at this. He might be able to find some bomb fragments." She looked to Vult, "What do we do in the meantime, Commander?"
Vult followed out after the shuttle landed, taking in the aftermath of the attack. Surgical and precise, doing the most damage with the least amount of noticeable ordnance. Mass casualties, damaged infrastructure. Disappeared without a trace. He'd have been impressed if it had been his team that did it. It troubled him that someone was on Devastis of all places in Imperial space wreaking havoc.
"Wherever the team is bunking at, get settled in, gear up," He addressed the three with him. "After-action reports can wait...and what was said in that room does not leave those present. Am I clear?"
"Got it," Hesa was first to speak up.
"Yes, sir," Tuu spoke next.
"Right, boss," Kazak spoke up last, "In the meantime, I think we should ask some of the witnesses. The others probably have transportation we can use." He walked off, starting to talk to some of the Irken who were still conscious but had lost limbs, trying to get some idea of what they saw. Hesa waited near Vult as Tuu walked off to follow Kazak. Sergeant Ayot and his companion gave the shuttle clearance to return to the secondary spaceport and the duo went about crowd control duties in the meanwhile.
Hesa simply sighed and shook her head. Within minutes Corr and the others arrived in a trio of military vehicles they commandeered while on the planet. The Captain walked over and gave Vult a nod rather than a salute, even he realized they had no idea if they were being watched now. "Commander, good to see you again. We just wrapped up our initial investigation at the motorpool a few kliks out. You need a quick sitrep or did someone tell you what went down?"
Vult acknowledged Corr's greeting with a nod, shaking the man's hand briefly.
"IIA handed me all the reports moments ago," he gestured to the datapad in his opposite hand. "The assignment on Irk was a success. Target located and neutralized." He summarized, purposely leaving out many a detail for the time being. There was a time and place for such, now was not it. "Have you and the rest of the team been assigned quarters planetside or are you still aboard the ship? I'm a little out of uniform and would like to rectify that post-haste." He commented with mild amusement, plucking at his civilian attire.
"Still on the ship, sir," Corr replied, "and honestly, I think it's better off that way. Whoever's been at this is crafty. I've had to break down the teams as of late. Usually we're in two squads, though some days I've even had to break us down into pairs with myself, Volx, and Rem in command positions." He looked around as Rha was already at work looking for bomb debris before looking back to Vult. "I think you can grab one of the squad to take you and the others back to the ship to gear up. We have enough here to start investigating. Wouldn't mind a fresh set of eyes on that motorpool either, sir. Rha said he already found something."
"Vortian?" Hesa spoke up.
"Well, yes, Hesa. He said that it looked like some Vortian thermite charges. How did you guess?"
"Lieutenant Kazak noticed evidence from one of their attacks being some old Vortian railgun."
"If that's the case, we're dealing with people using what's effectively our playbook."
The blue-eyed Commander nodded in agreement.
"Relative consensus shared at this point unfortunately. You know the havoc we are capable of sowing...concerning to be on the receiving end of it for once." He commented, turning his attention to Corr. "Have Volx and Kazak take over for the time being. I have much to discuss with you, Captain...in private." He concluded with emphasis.
"Yes, Commander," Corr got on his radio to Volx, "Lieutenant, you and Kazak are in command for now. I'm returning to the ship with the Commander and Hesa so they can gear up."
"Roger that, sir," Volx's voice came back, "Shouldn't Kazak get fitted out as well?"
"That can wait."
"Copy."
Corr motioned with his head and started walking towards one of the three vehicles to drive them back to the ship. Up above in one of the buildings, the Vortian Commander noticed the movement. "Wires, got three leaving the site. Tail them."
"On it, Night Witch."
Vult followed, catching up to his second-in-command. A moment of silence overcame them as they made for the dry dock where the Ghost of Irk currently resided planetside. Mostly a mental arrangement of how to approach the mountain of information dumped in his proverbial lap by the "late" Byte. That alone warranted countless additional questions.
"We managed to recover an unencrypted data disk prior to the completion of our assignment on Irk," He began in explanation, reaching into his overcoat to procure the device Byte blessed them with. "...the target was...insistent one of us took this and looked at its contents…"
A breath. Hesitation. Uncertainty. Corr trusted him...and he trusted Corr. He needed to confide in someone.
"...he specifically requested you, Captain. By name. He knew who we were. Why we were there. Even about Lieutenant Kazak and Sergeant Tuu...people he never laid eyes on...he was insistent you looked at this."
Corr took the disc and stashed it into his pouch flawlessly while keeping his eyes on the road as he drew. "Really? Knew that much? That's...concerning, who was he?"
"System Administrator of some sort," Hesa spoke up from the back seat, "but, honestly I don't even know after what we went through. Even knew that I'm actually deactivated."
"That's...concerning." Corr took a breath, "You think we're compromised, sir?"
"...Yes, but given the circumstances and nature of it, I do not think we need to be panicking over it. Yet." Vult reasoned carefully in a calculated tone after some contemplation. "There is more to it. Much more. I have not had the opportunity to formally file an after-action report. Priorities point towards solving the mystery of who is responsible for these acts of sabotage on Devastis. Should I have enough down-time, I will do so. The same is asked of you, focus on the task at hand, this secondary." He gestured to the data disk.
"Will do, sir." He stopped the vehicle in front of the docking gangway to their ship, unknowingly leading a Vortian right to their home. He stepped out, leading Vult and Hesa inside.
"You seeing this, Night Witch?"
"Seeing it on your feed. Got that location marked for later. We should try getting in there and investigating at some point. Might be worth hijacking an Irken communications array to send a transmission back to base if there's good intel."
"Rog'." The Vortian then retreated back the way he came.
Vult waited until the vehicle came to a stop before disembarking. Time was of the essence. The longer he took to prepare and assume command of the operation, the more time the unseen saboteurs had to prepare for their next strike against the Empire. Every successful blow struck, however miniscule they may be, was that much more of a delay for fresh reinforcements, much-needed supplies, and additional armor and various craft making it to the raging fronts all across known space. Vort, by far, the worst campaign given the staggering commitment of resources and ever-rising body count.
He wasted little time in boarding the familiar, upscaled and customized Voot Cruiser he and his team normally called home. IIA kept a close eye on the potentially high-value target given its unique nature and "VIPs" that were now planetside on Devastis. Taking a moment to rapidly take down a series of notes regarding what had happened on Irk in his private quarters as to not forget critical details, he offloaded the image files of Byte's artificial construct form and scrubbed them from his own personal device. Saved to an external disk drive, he locked all of it up securely in his desk, biometric-tagging and all.
Adorned in his familiar, modified Spec Ops uniform of black and red, he stopped off at the armory to kit up. Plasma rifle, power cells a plenty, grenades of multiple flavors, their signature forearm-mounted plasma daggers, and the trusty combat knife. Fewer pieces of survival equipment and more offensive armament to take the fight to whoever was responsible for the mess on Devastis.
Finally, he departed the Ghost of Irk, rejoining Corr outside as he casually ran start-up diagnostics of his integrated systems and equipment. Batteries nominal, HUD up and running, synced with the rest of the team, greenlights across the board.
Hesa followed soon after, her Vortian revolver in a thigh holster and a machine gun across her back. Set up with less grenades but plenty of ammo. She nodded to Vult and hopped back into the back seat. Corr himself was waiting outside, he only went back to his quarters to leave the disc in his desk before going back outside. Better there than in his armor pouch where it may end up damaged and unreadable...whatever was going on, Corr also wanted to know what it was.
With that, he drove the two back to the spaceport and rejoined the others. Rha had already been hard at work, gathering a number of bomb fragments and materials that he already had an idea of what was used to cause the damage. He knelt in front of a pair of blankets where he was at work placing what fragments he had together, a jagged puzzle, as his mind went to work.
The vehicle cleared the established checkpoint, credentials checking out before disembarking and joining the rest of the team on-site. Most of them pulled security, assisting IIA and the other military personnel for the time being. No sense in tripping over one another and destroying potential evidence in the process.
The Commander departed, plasma rifle magnetically secured on his back as he sought out their demolitions expert. He found him deep in concentration over a series of collected fragments of gnarled shrapnel, burnt wiring, and other odds and ends of metallic refuse blackened from soot and carbon scoring.
"Corporal," Vult addressed casually, getting his attention. Rha shot up to attention, but before he could raise his hand to salute, Vult stepped forward, grasping him by the shoulders, stopping him. "Relax...don't attract attention. You may get me shot." He made light of the situation.
"Right, sorry sir...didn't realize you were back."
"We can get the warm welcomes out of the way later this evening. Tell me you have something actionable. I've heard nothing but dead end after dead end since I've arrived."
He turned around, gesturing to the two various bundles of fragments he had been busy examining and piecing together. "From what I can tell, the charge that took out the main terminal was a tandem charge. We may finally have a break on identifying at least who is behind this." He lifted a small fragment that had a few numbers intact on the surface and showed it to Vult. "From what I can tell, this is a lot number, and it's Vortian."
With a pause, he put the fragment back down and gestured to the other charge. "That one is improvised, our own stock actually. Makes sense that they'd start using our own explosives against us being this far from home and this far behind enemy lines." He looked back to Vult, "I really think we're potentially dealing with Vortians. I doubt even former Spec Ops like the Lieutenants or Hesa are this clean in training or fresh out of it."
Vult nodded as Rha detailed his findings, stroking his chin in contemplation. "Neither do I...Kazak and Tuu looked over the reports regarding one of the assassinations. Their expertise speculated an older, out-of-production model of mass-driven rifle was used by looking at the recovered fragments of the slug. One of Vortian manufacture that would likely be seen either in civilian hands or personal procurement of VDF special forces. Just briefly looking at the reports presented to me and what you are telling me now, we are dealing with professionals here, Rha. Vortian operatives just like us if I had to summarize."
"Well...that's swell," Rha commented on the situation. "There can't be that many of them though if they're like us. The question is, how many, and how do we draw them out?"
"Considering the state of security on Devastis…" Vult began, looking around at the outpouring of personnel, skies full of military craft on constant patrol, shipyards in the distance constantly sending off massive warships, and the roadways abuzz with armored traffic to and from different manufacturing processes. "A large team would not go unnoticed, no matter how skilled...the frequency and diversionary tactics rule out lone wolf. No one is that good on their own. A single squad at most...a pair at the least."
Vult paused, opening up his personal datapad embedded in his left wrist gauntlet, typing away several notes for future review with the others, he continued speaking to the Demolitions Expert.
"Captain Corr filled me in where the IIA reports left much to be desired. Is there anything else I need to be made aware of having just arrived today? Speak freely, I have been gone for over a month, a lot can happen in a month."
"Uh...yes, sir." Rha scratched the back of his neck, "I don't think the Captain told you, but even if he did, I should inform you myself." He cleared his throat, "I punched Haxx in the face in front of several Imperial Troopers. Was making some rather...unbecoming remarks and I let my temper get the best of me. I accept full responsibility for that I did, sir."
The Commander's blue eyes looked up from his datapad, his fingers ceasing to type at this revelation.
"I'll assume Captain Corr already doled out appropriate reprimands, but what remarks was he making?"
"He has, sir," to get the first question out of the way. "He was acting rather unprofessionally, and started making comments to the Troopers directly that they couldn't do their jobs, I have to credit their restraint. I tried to reprimand him, and that's when he started making personal attacks against me. That's when I punched him. I'm glad IIA didn't haul me off for it."
"I imagine your Security Clearance may have had something to do with that," Vult reasoned with a hint of amusement, sighing. "The matter is done and dusted, yes? I won't be hearing any more about any ongoing issues between the two of you?"
"No, sir, nothing since."
Kazak thought he saw a slight glint from a window, stopping him in his tracks and looking in the direction of the glint. He unslung his rifle and aimed down the scope, staring at the exact same window for several seconds. The glass was broken from the earlier blast, and while fragments remained, he thought something was suspicious. Putting his rifle down and pretending to walk off, he started moving to try to maneuver into a blind spot before he took off in a sprint, gunning it for the building.
Volx spotted him, she tried her radio, "Kazak, where are you going?"
"Thought I saw something. I'm going to check it out."
"Damn it, I'm coming with you."
"No, don't. Just act casual. They might notice."
"They? You think you found them?"
"Only one way to find out." He entered the building in question through a side door, a habitation building, taking the stairs up to the floor in question, already somewhat winded once he made it to the top, entering the hall with his PDW in hand. He advanced down the hall, stopping at the suite and noticing the door looked forced open with some...rather unnatural strength to cause some bends. Forcing one of the ends open enough to slip inside, he scanned the suite, only to find it empty, but with the distinct smell of Irken blood. There were two occupants inside, dead, and by their uniforms they were Elites who lived here. Then he heard beeping. "Ah…" He quickly made his way out of the room and gunned it down the hall as far as he could before a small bomb exploded, causing yet more commotion outside.
"Kazak!" Volx's voice came over the comms. "You better not have died!"
He coughed, standing up from the blast that knocked him down, covered in dust in the smoky hall. "Nah...I'm fine...found where they were...they're gone though, blew their hide and whatever evidence was in there."
"Great…"
Vult, preoccupied with listening to Rha, only caught a glimpse of Kazak's dash for the nearby habitation block overlooking the remnants of the spaceport. Volx was immediately on comms with him, trying to figure out what was happening. He sought to investigate something suspicious. His attention fully garnered, he scanned the exterior of the building once Kazak disappeared inside. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary save for the light peppering of shrapnel from the spaceport blast...and one particular broken window a few stories up. A perfect overwatch position would one be inclined to maintain long lines of sight over the entire area.
Before any further queries could be relayed, the window in question briefly illuminated a hot blue-ish white before being blown out entirely with a deafening blast. An explosion, one likely tripped by Kazak. Thankfully, he was still alive, but the unfortunate news soon came. The booby-trapped hide likely vaporized any additional evidence on their likely VDF saboteurs.
Thinking fast, Vult changed comm channels, switching over to the local IIA bands.
"Sergeant Ayot. Commander Vult," He identified. "I'm sure you just saw and heard that. The area is not safe and far from secure. I need you to put your men to work and canvas the area. Every hallway, corridor, room, and closet. No stone left unturned. There may be more explosive ordnance and traps. Prioritize EOD. Over."
"Understood, Commander. IIA, grab whatever Troopers and Elites you need for your mission, sweep and clear every building in a five kilometer radius. Be mindful of explosives and anything suspicious. Get civilians cleared and into safe zones! Move it!"
Kazak started making his way back down the stairs, "You're not going to believe this, but the door to the hab suite I was in was bent."
"Bent?" Volx replied, "Bent how?"
"Bent in the center. Looked like someone punched one of the sliding panels to make a gripping surface and then pried them open."
"Punched? You sure it wasn't a tool?"
"Volx, I think I know a fist shaped dent when I see one."
As Kazak came down, Volx walked over to Vult, "Fist shaped? That doesn't seem possible, sir. Is it? I don't think any normal Vortian can do that to a metal door."
The Commander's own experiences with the augmentation offered by his cybernetic limb that made him combat-effective still immediately came to mind at this bit of observation.
"This deep behind enemy lines and operating in isolation, I doubt they are anything but normal." Vult reasoned. "All the more reason to find them and put an end to their attempts to undermine the Empire and cripple Devastis. Every successful attack carried out is just that much more of a delay of reinforcements and supplies making it to Vort. Wrap up the investigation here as soon as possible and return to the ship."
After wrapping up and getting whatever evidence collected handed off to IIA, the team returned to their ship. Corr himself made a turn after going inside, finding their trusty SIR unit in front of the mess hall, a strong indicator that they were inside. The Captain entered, seeing Kiara and Turb drinking some water inside. "General, we might have some questions for you. Namely, special forces capabilities."
Kiara set down her glass after taking a sip, "You know I'm a garrison leader. I'm not special forces."
"That may be, but surely you know something. Whatever's been going on here on Devastis has Vortian fingerprints all over it."
"Is that so? What evidence do you have?"
Vult, after diligently scrubbing any sensitive information from the reports beyond what was necessary, joined Corr as he addressed their female Vortian prisoner. He tossed the datapad down before her with the open files regarding the rail gun assassination and the explosive ordnance components recovered at the spaceport.
"Just like I told your father countless times, don't play me for a fool." He cut to the heart of the matter. "Not sure what all he has shared with you regarding the happenings aboard this vessel and my team, but we still have a job to do. That involves getting to the bottom of what is happening on Devastis and dealing with it. Permanently. My team has already determined the source of the slug fragments and at least one of the ordnance fragments originating with the VDF. Start talking. Now."
She looked at the slug, "Yeah, that's ours, mass accelerated slugs. We were still using those in training from time to time." She looked at the lot number, seeing it was Vortian. Though it didn't stick out. She wasn't a quartermaster. "Like I said, I'm garrison, not spec ops. If this is all you got, the only thing I can tell you is that they're maybe Vortian."
"How about something that can make a fist sized dent in a door and destroy their hide?" Corr asked back.
That stopped her, then she looked at the other events and it started to click. She smirked, setting the datapad down. "Yeah, you guys are fucked."
"What?"
"This looks like my brother Gantas' handiwork. He's special forces. Was actually pioneering a program to give us an edge in case you guys ever came back. A set of powered armor. You said the dent was fist shaped?" Corr nodded, "From what my brother said, I wouldn't be surprised if one of our own wearing that wouldn't be able to rip off your PAKs and beat you to death with them."
"Don't get too excited about a family reunion. He's a dead man when we find him." Vult plainly spoke. "All the augmented strength in the universe isn't going to stop a high-velocity plasma bolt between his horns at range."
The Commander paused, leaning forward with his palms planted flat on the table, gaze sternly fixed on Kiara.
"Assuming he is in fact one of those present on Devastis, you want him to survive this? Help us call him out of hiding and apprehend him. My team is here to kill them. I've shown you and your father mercy. The choice is yours."
"What if it's not my brother?" Kiara struck back. "I don't think they'd try to rescue me if he's not with them. I might be an opportune target to keep anything further quiet." She paused, "This far behind enemy lines? He wouldn't come himself. They still need him and his men on Vort. Anyone who's here volunteered for this knowing it's a one way trip. I hope you and your team are ready to be busy...these guys will harass you across your empire whenever Vort falls."
"Kiara," Turb looked to her, "You are certain they would not rescue us?"
"Positive, dad, you included." She looked back to Vult and Corr, "I suggest you two pull up a map and start looking at this planet as if you were going to sabotage it yourselves. What you would do to cripple it. You need to get inside their heads to know what they would hit. I know what I'd hit in a conventional attack, but this sort of mission sounds like one you're more intimately familiar with than myself."
"A conclusion we've already arrived at," Vult responded to her "suggestions" on how to proceed. "What else do you know about this project your brother's involved in? What are these suits capable of?"
"Great armor, potential optical camouflage, other enhancements to make it even more dangerous. He never did go into much detail about its development. I guess just in case dad and I were ever captured...but he said it would change how we carry special operations in the VDF and Navy forever. Other than that...really not much I can tell you."
Vult nodded at this tidbit of information. She was being quite compliant and useful despite being their prisoner for well over a month. The Commander looked to the SiR Unit staring menacingly with its red oculars at the pair of Vortians.
"Sir."
"Yes, Commander?" The artificial machine's menacingly-deep vox casted with a sharp salute.
"See these two back to their cell...extra helping of dessert to go with them." Vult issued, looking back to Kiara. "Your help is appreciated."
"Commander," Kiara rose from the table with her father, followed by the mech with their desert. She cracked a small smile before she left, appreciating the small gesture. Corr, meanwhile, rubbed his chin as he pondered what she said, even if it wasn't much.
"Sounds like some sort of tech that the Empire doesn't have. Power armor scaled down to the size of an infantry soldier? We don't have anything capable of that, do we?"
Vult watched them go, guided by their resident SiR Unit before addressing Corr.
"Not that I'm aware of, Corr...best of my knowledge is our unit is the testbed for a lot of that cutting-edge, prototype equipment and it's nowhere near on the radar. We have the best the Empire has to offer at the moment. To be expected with the Vortians though. Brute force isn't our forte, anyway."
"So, what's the plan now?"
"Same as it has been, Captain...search and destroy." Vult answered cryptically before explaining. "We are chasing our antenna as it is. I bore witness to that today and I know you and the rest of the team have been frustrated before my arrival. Our targets remain one step ahead and know how to manipulate and play the Imperial forces stationed here. We must approach this from a different angle. A subtle one."
He paused, contemplating for the moment with a stroke of his chin before speaking again.
"...undercover," He began, pointing to Corr at this epiphany with a nod. "Our uniforms are unique and stand out. They know who belongs to this unit and assume we are here for some special task or assignment. That we have additional training. All of which is true, but they know to avoid our attention or strike where we aren't looking and can't respond effectively. We blend in with the uniformed regulars here. Irken Elite. Imperial Troopers. Internal Affairs. Wear their issued kit, integrate into the units assigned to the areas most likely to be struck next."
His attention re-focused on Corr with emphasis.
"Just as Kiara said...we need to plan as if we were to cripple and disable Devastis from the inside. Get inside their heads...and be waiting for them before they strike again. Plan moves ahead instead of chasing after."
"I'll inform the others, sir...this mission gets crazier all the time." With that, Corr left to tell the others.