Some Time Later

Being woken up in the dead of night for some clandestine meeting far away from the majority of activity around the citadel already had Rub in a sour mood. Sleep was a precious commodity in high demand and the intermittent naps between missions was taking its toll. Given Gantas' insistence of leaving all communications equipment behind and to make it quick certainly had his attention. Rather than voice his complaints, he begrudgingly accepted to join what may as well have been another family reunion at their superior's orders.

Gantas'Zharic waited on the roof of the Citadel for his team leaders to arrive. SIS had their plan together, but there was one particular problem, he found out why the exit strategy presented wasn't really clear, and it was the contingency. Rather than abandon Tallum outright, Overlord intended to send several of his men to force a meltdown of the power plant, killing anyone left behind, Vortian and Irken alike. Much as 'Zharic had no love left for the Irken, he wasn't about to doom the remaining Vortians in this small area of Tallum to death. One by one, the four team leads arrived.

"Good, you're all here." He gestured them all to come in close so he didn't have to speak as loudly. "Listen, the offensive is on soon, but I've learned some disturbing news. These SIS bastards intend on blowing the power plant. Whoever doesn't get out of Tallum in time has their death warrant signed, friend and foe alike."

"Wait, what?" Reeshara blinked, "They're really-"

"Yes, Reeshara, they're going to force a meltdown."

"Explains the vagueness on our extraction…" Vorken rubbed his chin, "What's the plan, sir?"

"Simple, we're all getting off of Vort. I'm pulling your vessels off of this insane plan and sending them out to coordinates far behind the Irken front. It'll be a matter of escape and evade, but at least we can get clear. I'll give each of you your coordinates."

"And this contingency?" Tha asked.

"I'm willing to put my name and reputation on the line. Any one of those Ghost Scribe bastards makes a move towards the power plant, I'm giving you freedom to gun them down as a hostile." He paused, taking a breath, "Though, in the meantime…" he looked to Rub, "You're not going to like this. What I'm about to tell all of you is on a need to know basis, but this is the proverbial need to know. We have a team of Irken currently acting as double agents. They'll need to shoot at other VDF units to maintain their cover, maybe you as well, but this is why I need to ask what I need to."

He paused as Reeshara, Gorsam, and Tha looked at each other with absolute confusion, "Rub, I need you to go behind enemy lines and make contact with them. You're the only one I could think to ask, and that's because you happen to know who we're dealing with. Specifically, Commander Vult, and Admiral Narr confirmed additional friendlies in his team named Kazak and Vard."

Rub's head swam, struggling to compartmentalize and comprehend the information being fed to him. A surreal experience of the words being said, but their meaning and his understanding almost being lost. Their statements and the way they were arranged. The weight they carried. The implications. It was almost overwhelming.

"...assuming I'm not in a fever dream right now...you vant us to engage friendly forces to prevent a potential contingency plan from being enacted assuming their initial one fails?"

He hadn't even mentally unpacked the "working with the Irken" part yet.

"I never thought I would ever say this, but, yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. I'm not willing to condemn all these civilians to their death because these intelligence bastards want to commit one last act of spite. That's aside from getting all of us killed in the process. Though, if you make contact with Vult and his team, we may not need to do that, or at least not as much."

Rub's attention drifted to the edge of their controlled territory. Within the boundary of the barrier, the city was relatively untouched. A stray crater here or there, but other than that, nothing out of the ordinary with the exception of the presence of military forces. A pitch-black, lightless ring of vaporized dust, scorched earth, and debris of devastation with sparse infernos still raging, dotted throughout the urban sprawl beyond. Concentrations of Irken troops could be seen by the glow of their own encampments and lines. Deceptively dark beauty of neon magenta against the darkness of billowing smoke and flames.

The sniper's gaze tightened before drifting back to Gantas in full.

"This is insane. You know that, right?" He opened with. "Vhat you are asking is treason if ve are discovered. As much as I dislike SIS, the vould not plan such lightly. I don't agree vith it, but if it cripples the Empire here and makes them vulnerable...is it not vorth at least considering as an option? I am sure they've ran countless simulations and are leaving it only as an absolute last-ditch effort."

"They've been to the station, Rub."

Reeshara blinked, "Wait, they've actually seen Admiral 'Narr? Our fallback point?"

"Yes, Reeshara. Rhac filled me in. They and an Irken named Byte are quietly working to form a revolution within the Empire. They have Ervaus team captured on their ship. They're alive, and they have orders to aid Vult and his team once they're out in the open with their rebellion."

"Wish they'd kick it off."

"No kidding, but they're far from ready." Gantas turned his attention back to Rub, "Yes, I know what I'm asking of you. However, if Admiral 'Narr trusts these guys, I'm willing to give them a chance. I need to make contact with them. We can use them to stop the SIS contingency rather than direct intervention. If anyone asks, you're on a recon mission officially. I wouldn't ask this unless I was serious about what I'm saying and stopping SIS from slaughtering all these civilians. None of this will fall on you, that I can promise. I'm willing to absorb all the potential blame along with informing command of what these people were planning."

Rub huffed, shaking his head.

"Vhat makes you think they can be stopped? Ve don't know how many of them are out there, augmented or othervise." He pointed out. "If they're villing to turn the planetary capital into a smoldering, radioactive crater, vhat do you think they'll do to us if ve vork against them in any capacity and they find out?"

"They're mortal, they can be stopped." Gantas paused, "These Irken somehow managed to capture Ervaus team despite these suits. These guys know what they're doing. I'm hoping you can find something out that will potentially give us an edge for any failsafes we need if these jokers try to turn on us. Our best bet, aside from trying to stop this ourselves, is to let Vult and his team handle it. That's also why when we extract, we're not taking any of them with us. They can find their own rides out, if they don't get killed first."

Fighting their own people, albeit a different agency and branch of their government that already had a nefarious reputation...working with the same entity responsible for Vort's devastation and grievous loss of life...nothing about this made sense and none of it settled well with Rub. The Irken were their enemy! Not fellow Vortians! Yet, he was being tasked with making contact with a particular individual among them from the highest order of magnitude down with the exception of the Chief Minister herself.

"...vhat do ve know about these Irken? Any leads? Vhere can they be found?" Rub sighed, already fighting the sickening feeling deep in his stomach even discussing the thought of working with the enemy.

Gantas pulled up a holographic map and pointed to a point to the southeast. "Heard recon reports from VDF chatter about one of our shuttles getting up and touching down in this area twice within the span of an hour, one that Irken fighters didn't attack, it has to be Ervaus', which means they're there. Look for residential locations. Closest to the shuttle's LZ of note is Vidokos' Bistro."

"What about the stock exchange?" Tha noted, looking at the map herself."

"Avoid that at all costs. Intel says that's General Saro's field headquarters. You'll only be a block down from that at best, but he's been so busy throwing troops into the grinder the rear is likely undefended. That's your best bet."

Rub's jaw clenched with a low growl at the mentioning of the sector's commanding officer, his fist tightening.

"I should have killed him vhen I had the chance." He commented, huffing. "...who am I making contact vith and vhat is to be exchanged?"

"Commander Vult, I know you're already familiar with him. It's his team that's our double agents." He pulled up an image of the briefing room that Rhac sent him. "Ideally, make contact with him directly. Otherwise, you'll want to make contact with either of the two here, short one is Vard, the other is Kazak. Those are the three that Admiral 'Narr confirmed are in on this. As for what. Have him contact me, give him my secure frequency. And find out how they captured Ervaus."

Hearing the name reiterated, reminded of his encounter with the man and his team some months ago. The blue-eyed one missing half of an antenna. The one that risked life and limb to save Saro of all his kind. Most of all...the one responsible for the scar on his right thigh and the forced limp he walked with for some time while on the mend.

Cool winds blew, whipping at the higher elevation atop the citadel of Tallum. On them carried the scent of lingering ozone intermingled with the chill of rain.

"...there's a storm coming," He observed with a sniff, "I'll vait to move under the cover of it to avoid detection."

"All right then. Take Ruk if you need to, if you can manage alone, that's fine. I'll have Buris come by later with your extraction coordinates handwritten for your use. Remember how I said we're all getting out of here? I meant it. I really hope this works. Just be ready to head for extraction on my order when the time comes. Dismissed."

"Best if I go solo on this one. Fewer people involved, fewer questions asked later." He reasoned, looking to Reeshara. "Vhat are you and the others going to do in the meantime?"

"More waiting, quietly briefing our teams on the extraction, map our escapes once the time comes." She stopped and put a hand on his shoulder, "I don't envy your current position, bruvka. Talk about insanity. I don't need to tell you not to get caught, I know you already won't." She smirked and gave his shoulder a firm shake.

Rub nodded at her camradire, rolling his shoulders with a sigh.

"Just make sure the idiot doesn't do anything stupid in my absence," He half-jested about his twin. "Then again, I may be the idiot going into enemy lines alone vithout support. Vouldn't be the first time. Hopefully not the last."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll make sure the recluse stays safe." She gave him a nod, Tha and Gorsam heading off, followed shortly after by herself, leaving Rub alone on the rooftop, Gantas having left some time ago.

As stated, Rub did not immediately leave on his clandestine mission. Darkness remained across Tallum, the stars and Armada vessels above became obscured with clouds. Thunder rumbled and rolled, joining in with the sound of artillery. Finally, the heavens opened up. A drizzle turned into a downpour within the hour. The sort of weather he had braved time and time again amidst combat with the Irken leading up to these trying times.

Thankfully, his augmented suit kept him bone dry. Technology had its advantages and this was most definitely one of them as he moved through quiet, empty surface streets towards the Vortian front at the barrier's perimeter. No official transportation. No curious soldiers. No questions asked. The fewer aware, the better.

Taking to the underground through a manhole several blocks away from the front, he dropped down below the streets. Stormwater draining into the sewers brought the water level higher and higher as he traversed it. Thankfully, it remained below chest height by the time he cleared the other side of the perimeter. Unfortunately, his plan to sneak out through No Man's Land did not work as most of the tunnels collapsed or were in danger of doing so. Many, many turns later, wary to not get lost beneath the surface in the pitch-black darkness, he finally emerged once more.

Continuing to move swiftly, the rain reducing visibility and masking his hurried steps, he moved deeper and deeper behind the Irken's lines. His experience in the field as a natural silent killer was only made all the more effective with the suit's ability to temporarily cloak his presence. Were enough light present, his outline would still be more visible than usual due to the distortion of water cascading off his form.

Rub found the restaurant Gantas provided information on. A well-known eatery favored by many in Tallum before the war. Hard to miss at a glance as much of the city around the area had sustained considerable damage, yet it stood nearly untouched save for superficial damage caused by the pressure waves of nearby explosive ordnance impacting. Cursory scans produced little to go on, save for a single potential target on the rooftop. Sentry duty and a marksman given the type of weapon.

For now, Rub accessed his suit of programs, searching for any local transmission sources. Communications, visual feeds, something. Anything to make confirmation and ensure he was to make contact with the correct person or risk an engagement where he was at a severe disadvantage.

"Red Two" Corr's voice came over the radio as Kazak started coughing, caught off guard while drinking some water. "You dying up there, Kazak?"

After a few more bouts of coughing, Kazak managed to squeeze out a "No," before coughing some more. "Just went down wrong. What's up?"

"Any movement?"

"You mean aside from the rain? No, nothing."

"Copy that. Maintain your post on the roof for now."

"Right," Kazak closed his canteen and stashed it, coughing a few more times after that as his throat finished clearing, "Fucking hell."

Rub's patience paid off. Thankfully, two of them that were up and on watch were two that Gantas had mentioned in being "in the know" of this whole crazy double agent thing. He still had his doubts. Nevertheless, he followed his gut instincts and scanned the area for the most subtle approach. No sense in announcing his presence until ready to do so.

Erring on the side of caution, he made his way further down the street, away from the building to swing in from the flank through the strewn rubble of the collapsed buildings. A little longer than simply crossing the street, but the safest route.

Eventually, the Vortian operative came to the backside of the building. Opening a particular suite on his suit's systems, the pads and palms of his hands and soles of his clawed feet allowed him to gain purchase on the building's stone and brick facade. He didn't understand the science behind it, only that it could be best compared to that of magnetism and metal. It allowed him to scale a sheer surface without leaving any evidence behind of doing so or making additional noise of digging in for purchase.

Despite the torrential rain falling all around him, he smoothly ascended, floor-after-floor, eventually stopping short of the roof. Slowly lifting his head, he peered over to get a visual.

The sniper had his back turned to Rub, a poncho over his armor to keep him at least moderately dry, camouflage fabric, clearly not Irken issue or Vortian, something he personally cooked up. His helmet was sitting on a table under an awning. He looked around on the horizon some more before returning to the table, which also had a metal cup resting on it, as well as a personal stove that was heating some water. The sniper removed it from the heater and added in a small packet of Vortian instant coffee before stirring it with a spoon and taking a seat. He figured he could afford to take a load off for a few moments.

Rub watched the one he presumed to be this Kazak for a few moments. Calm, relaxed, unaware of his presence. Good. Assured he wasn't going to be caught off-guard or surprised by any traps or early warning devices, he mantled up over the edge of the rooftop's crown before slinking slowly and silently towards the seated Irken.

Well-practiced, his right hand quietly drew his vibroblade from the small of his back. Closing the distance like a predator stalking prey, he did not rush or give up the element of surprise. Rather, he smoothly approached Kazak from behind. Just as the Irken was to take a drink from his prepared, heated drink, Rub's left gauntlet sharply took hold of the man's chin, the kiss of cold steel pressed hard against his throat. It took an actual thought to not draw it across as he had done many times before. He wasn't here to kill him. So he hoped.

"Set the cup down. No sudden movements." Rub growled low near his antenna.

Taken by surprise, his eyes darted around for a few moments before recognizing the familiar texture against his exposed skin, synthetic muscle, the Vortian stuff. Slowly raising his free hand, he set the cup down on the table. "If you haven't killed me yet…" he started as he released the cup and brought his other hand up, "I'm going to assume you're not Ghost Scribe we just recently found out about. Ohnmatu, perhaps?"

Rub watched as he listened to his commands, feeling the Irken's muscles shift and move to do so. So far, he was compliant and not keen on making an attempt to retaliate. Hearing him speak in response kept his attention...and the knife in place.

"That depends on who I speak to. Identify yourself."

"Kazak, I work with Vult." He hoped that answer would be concise enough if this guy was in the know about their real status.

Rub said nothing, a few seconds passed before he pulled the blade's edge from the Irken's neck and released him to take a step back. His cloak remained active, his outline only visible to the rain falling on him. No sense in giving any other marksmen in the area the opportunity to take a shot at him.

"Your lucky day then, Irken...I am here on Admiral 'Narr's behalf. Much is to be discussed, but not here."

"Where, then?"

"Inside. Out of the veather vhere I cannot be targeted." Rub pointedly spoke, growing impatient.

"All right all right, I just didn't know if you had somewhere else picked out." He stood, slowly, grabbing his coffee cup and heading inside with Rub behind him. They only needed to go down one flight of stairs. Two bedroom apartments up at the top floor, with only two doors in the hall. Kazak made his way down to Vult's and knocked on the door.

Rub followed after him, leaving the rooftop and coming in from the storm. Water dripped off of his nearly invisible form. A tap and type later, his cloak dropped, revealing the same armored suit they had much experience with. Despite Kazak's compliance, he still remained alert and ready to draw a weapon and seek a fast exit. He put nothing to chance and that was how he remained alive against the odds.

The door they stopped at and the Irken knocked on, there was a delay.

Kazak simply sighed, knocking on the door again. The door opened, a tired eyed Corporal opened the door, wearing a hastily drawn on pair of pants and a slightly buttoned uniform jacket not leaving much to the imagination. She quickly made out Kazak as she rubbed her eyes. "Why are you-"

Kazak put up a hand to block his gaze from drifting down below. "We need to speak to Vult. Now."

"We? Who's we?" She looked up again, seeing the suited Vortian right behind Kazak and going wide eyed, quickly clenching her jacket shut and stepping aside to get Vult, allowing the two to enter and Kazak closing the door behind them. "Vult, Vult get up, get something on. One of those Ohnmatu guys is here."

Were it not for his concealing mask and goggles, Rub's disgust was palpable. It was bad enough he had to speak to them in a civil fashion and share sensitive information. Seeing them in such a state of affairs was not high on his priority list. He remained stonily silent as he followed after Kazak into the room as Hesa quickly made to get Vult up from bed.

A few moments later, the unit's commanding officer made his appearance from the bedroom. Uniform pants, undershirt, and nothing else as he entered the room where they stood. He gave pause at the sight of the Vortian clad in sophisticated armor standing behind Kazak.

"Commander Vult?" Rub queried, to the point.

"Possibly. Who is asking?"

"Admiral 'Narr is asking."

"Then yes, that's me." Vult confirmed, attempting to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "Who am I speaking to?"

"The messenger."

"If I don't know who the messenger is, how can I trust the message?"

Rub narrowed his eyes behind his goggles at Vult's cagey behavior. The same man he met months ago and fought hand-to-hand against was testing his patience. The petty part of him wanted to just start killing the Irken around him. These people and their government were responsible for the state of Vort. His dead family. The untold numbers of lives lost and generations gone...but these were supposedly beyond that. Something different.

"...Kazak." Vult addressed without looking at him, keeping his eyes on Rub. "Watch the door."

Kazak nodded to Vult, opening the door slightly and keeping an eye on the hallway. Hesa stood leaning against the doorframe of the bedroom, both of her hands visible and her jacket now fully buttoned. She simply looked at the Vortian in the suit, somewhat curious about him. The sniper, however, spoke up in a low voice, "Look, he didn't kill me when he had a knife to my throat. He's reliable."

Vult gestured to the kitchen table, turning the light on over it as he walked by the switch on the wall. "Have a seat. Get comfortable."

"I'll stand." Rub shortly said, tracking his movements.

"Suit yourself," the Irken shrugged, pulling out one of the chairs to sit down. "...so are you going to tell me which one of Gantas' men you are or do you prefer the mysterious stranger approach?"

"Spectre."

Vult left Rub to his brooding stare as he casually stood up, an afterthought, to get something to drink out of the refrigerator. The power stayed on and anything that wasn't spoiled remained chilled. A canned, carbonated, sugary drink was acquired, popping the top with a hiss as he sat back down to drink it.

Rub growled at his nonchalance.

"It's rude to not introduce yourself proper, you know." Vult finally said, gesturing to the rifle slung across his back. "That's not VDF standard-issue. It's ancient. Long-range, high-caliber...you're a sniper. You're one of the 'Akhos, aren't you?"

"...and you're the one who spared the Nightmare's life vhen he deserved no mercy."

"So we have met before. I prefer these circumstances over the last time."

Hesa shot a quick look to Kazak, then back to Rub and Vult, before walking over to him and speaking quietly. "What's he talking about?"

"Actually how I ended up meeting Vult before we ran into you. Saw him with Saro while I was still a scout sniper, worked our way back to our lines." He paused for a few seconds, "Talk about coincidence. If he's the one I'm thinking, he's got a reputation among us marksmen that have been here, the very same Spectre of Vort. Horror stories, but nobody confirmed to have seen him and lived to talk about it."

Hesa blinked, walking past Rub and getting a soda herself, continuing to look at him with curiosity, and some slight worry still, not knowing if he intended on hurting Vult somehow because of past circumstances.

"Ve vould not be having this discussion under different circumstances."

"I'm aware," Vult responded in kind. "Gantas sent you at Admiral'Narr's behalf. Why? What is the message? Why the risk?"

Rub did not immediately respond. Rather, his hand rose, pulling the mask and goggles free of his head. Deep gray skin, dark green eyes, and squared features. A big man and it showed, even without the help of the suit's bulk around him. The frame of a man that easily overpowered Vult and held his life in his hands.

"Because, Irken, there is much in play at Tallum and if it goes awry, all of us vill die. Vortian...Irken...everyone vithin Tallum."

"By whose hand? Ours?"

"No."

That...was surprising.

"Who, then?"

"SIS."

"Your intelligence wing plans on...killing everyone?"

"They intend to, assuming all other contingencies are exhausted. This is their fallback to spite the Empire and ensure asset destruction."

"How?" Vult pursued, making mental notes. "A super weapon? Is it Project Silent Night?"

"No." Rub spoke, pointing out the window to the illuminated power plant. "They vill deactivate reactor cooling parameters and send it into an irreversible meltdown. The potential for destruction vould be catastrophic. It is one of the largest plants of its kind ever constructed. This entire city vould be vaporized."

"Silent Night would only affect us anyhow, Vult, if it was active...well, maybe everyone except us at this point." Hesa spoke on the super weapon before looking outside to the power plant behind it's own miniature phasic barrier. "Yeah, the size of that facility? Looks like massive power output. It'd take too much to destroy it with conventional means. To maximize damage, overloading it would be the best bet." She put her drink down and looked to Rub. "Are they that suicidal or do they not give a damn about any of you at this point?"

"Not suicidal." Vult spoke before Rub did, getting both of their attention. "They're not soldiers. They don't serve out of nationalistic pride or protection of their people like a soldier would. They are servants of the government. The government controls the military. The government would rather see Tallum denied to the Empire at this stage if it cannot be protected and saving those trapped in that barrier is too high a cost in manpower, resources, and too great a risk."

"Vhat he says is true...but SIS is of a different cloth. A different breed of monster." Rub added much to his own dismay of agreeing with an Irken. "They apply the authority of the Federation, figuratively and literally, to the most extreme degree in the most extreme cases. There is a reason they are not permitted on Vort only under the most dire of circumstances."

"So it is no surprise that they are here now." Vult summarized.

"You speak casually vhile being the reason they are here. I vould be mindful of vhat you say."

Vult sighed, setting his drink down to interlace his fingers, looking to Rub over his hands.

"Whether you like me or not is irrelevant. I know your people's most intimate secrets. I know of your contingencies off-world. I know of the source of your technological advantage over the Empire...and the Empire does not."

"Yet."

"What do I gain in telling my superiors? A "job well done"? Another equally dangerous, threatening assignment to risk life and limb for all over again?" Vult turned back on him. "The Empire's fanatical zeal is not by will alone if you were not already aware of that. The common soldiers, the short-statured and unrepresented? They are programmed to act and behave the way they do. Unquestioning, unwavering loyalty to their superiors and the Almighty Tallest. A complete and total lack of free thought and will and inability to deviate from that programming. Conditioning from the day they are hatched and until the day they die for nothing to be recycled back into a system that treats us as nothing more than organic machines."

"That does not excuse your genocide of my people." Rub all but snarled.

"No, it does not...but we are not your enemy. Not anymore. I am doing what I can within my power to see to it that this stops and never happens to another race again."

"He's right, you know," Kazak spoke from the door, closing it briefly, "I've had my doubts back before I joined up with Vult. Ever since my eyes were opened and the fear gone? I see what we ended up helping, this evil Empire that has to fall."

Hesa nodded as Kazak resumed watching the door, "He's right. Those same brainwashed masses? We all have a gun figuratively pointed at our head, we step out of line, they hit an off switch and we're dead. Except for us, we're disconnected. Not only have they denied us free thought, the ability to do something different in life, they've denied us biological function itself." She stopped herself short briefly, but continued with her tirade, "Our species is kept in a permanent state of adolescence. Thanks to Turb's tinkering, we've been able to physically mature, I just happened to be the first test subject. We've been denied maturity, we've been denied deeper romance, we've been denied...sex of all things. For all we know, we've even been denied the ability to have children naturally, rather than this cloning that we've all been brought into the world by."

"You'll have to excuse me if I don't sympathize vith those responsible for vhat may very vell be the apocalypse for my people," Rub scathingly spoke at her tirade before turning back to Vult. "Gantas vants SIS stopped. Ve cannot do so vithout committing treason."

"Yet you come to us and collaborate," Vult pointed out the hypocrisy of his words as he took another drink of his soda. "...I understand why. It's far easier to pin their untimely demise on the invading Irken Empire rather than expecting a knife in the back from one of their own. I don't know what is going on from the Federation side, but if it is anything like what I contend with on a daily basis, it would not surprise me in the slightest if those in control wouldn't hesitate to throw lives away for a short-term gain, no matter how specialized and well-trained they may be."

"Vhat SIS is planning cannot be of our leaders doing, no matter how desperate they may be to be rid of you and your kind," Rub reasoned unkindly. "Something else is going on."

"No better time than the current to make politically-motivated power moves when the opposition is overwhelmed elsewhere," Vult responded. As much as Rub wanted to refute his logic, he couldn't. It was sobering to see the parallels between them. "...so Gantas wants us to take care of your SIS problem...what is in it for us?"

"Excuse you?" Rub stepped forward into the light over the kitchen table, palms coming to rest on it.

"My orders are to figure out how to crack that barrier of yours so the main force can advance and finish this campaign. Not solve your internal strife for you. I am going out of my way and taking risks to help you. I already have enough to worry about from within my own ranks, let alone inviting whatever mess you bring to my lap."

Rub felt his anger begin to build at this Irken's audacity at what he was implying. Vult remained stonily set as he sampled his drink, the tension remaining constant.

Kazak closed the door and walked over sensing the tension, "Whoa, whoa, whoa." The still dripping wet sniper looked to the trio in the room, "Vult, remember what I said back there? I know we have appearances to keep up, but I'm done as far as the Empire is concerned. What our friend here is saying is a bit more important to me at the moment. Orders be damned, I'm not here to get nuked for the Tallest because some joker within the Federation's power system got a wild hair up his ass." He let out a frustrated huff. "If I have to go off alone and do this, I will, but it'd be much better to have a team to stop these Ghost Scribe guys by the look of 'em."

Hesa simply blinked looking between them, she knew Kazak was always of the more vocal variety, but she's never seen him like this until now. This is outright...rebellious in a way.

The Commander's attention zeroed on Kazak's obstinance.

"Important or not, Lieutenant, we cannot just up and fight their battles for them. Not with so many eyes watching this place. Not with such a concentration of forces. People will see. People will ask questions. You do not have Grimm or the Tallest watching your every movement. I do." He made clear, reminding him of his rank and where he lay in the hierarchy before he got too frivolous with his opinions. "...the price of freedom is far from free...a safe assumption to make with everyone present."

Rub ground his teeth, attempting to subside his rage and focus on the task at hand. This wasn't about him. This wasn't about his family. This was orders designated from a superior. Orders that may make the difference in deciding the fate of Tallum. Something greater than he alone...and the very sort of thing he had been fighting to preserve alongside family and allies alike.

"Vhat vill motivate you to take the risk?" Rub forced himself to query at the risk of being sick.

"Help me bring a quickened end to this stalemate." Vult pointedly spoke. "Provide me with what I need to be successful in bringing the phasic barrier down. I will take care of your SIS problem."

He paused, looking to Hesa.

"Go get my personal data assistant."

Hesa nodded and went to the next room to get Vult's PDA. Kazak, meanwhile, took a few steps in frustration. He seemed to be of the same mind as those who sent Rub. "The smart thing to do would be to disperse via the sewers. If Grimm is as frustrated and stupid as I think he is, he's going to order everybody to funnel into any opening in a weakened phasic barrier. Could use that to their advantage, having them head out through sectors that will otherwise be sparsely held or unoccupied, head into the countryside and form a resistance." He stopped and looked at Rub, eyeing his sniper rifle, it was a fine piece of work. "I know we can't outright help these guys, but like you said, we didn't come here to lie in a grave Grimm built for us. Pretty sure that includes one indirectly made for us by whoever the shit in SIS authorized this."

"Stupid or not, it would be sheer, overwhelming numbers," Vult pointed out, finishing off his drink. "The VDF is at a severe disadvantage and no amount of ordnance is going to hold back the tidal wave that is going to surge through that hole once it is created. I know that, you know that, and you know that." He concluded, looking back to Rub.

"All the more reason to delay it as long as possible. Vhen that happens and vhatever is planned does not go accordingly, the SIS vill force the power plant into an unstable state to overload and melt down."

"An eventuality that neither of us can stop from happening at the moment," Vult summarized as Hesa returned with his left-forearm gauntlet. He opened the access panel to it, the holographic interface coming to life as he interfaced with it. "...the only way we can help you is if you give me the intel I need. That means setting into motion the eventual fall of Tallum. I cannot stop it. You cannot stop it."

Rub strongly weighed his options hearing the painful truth he was more than aware of already. Just a matter of delaying it long enough to save as many lives as possible. He said nothing, watching Vult access particular maps and files before tossing the gauntlet to the Vortian sniper to hold and review.

"Vhat's this?"

"A subterranean scan of Tallum. The continual bombardments at the perimeter of your barrier have collapsed many sewers, but there are several that are still accessible. There are routes to take you beneath the Irken lines and out of the city entirely if you stay in them."

"How did you get this?"

"Classified."

Rub huffed, looking the mapped routes out before him as the projection slowly turned. It deliberately avoided the bulk of Irken forces, snaking between narrow corridors and gaps in their lines. The reduced risk of detection from above the ground or danger of tunnel collapse from the fighting. Someone had access to very powerful surveying tools to do something of this nature.

"These scans were taken for our own contingencies. I would take my team through those same tunnels without a second thought." Vult attempted to instill confidence into him. "...tell me when and where I can find the SIS team to intercept them before they rig the power plant up to melt down and that is yours to save as many people as you can before we break through. After I stop the SIS team, we will be spearheading the final push on Tallum."

"Which means we need to get in contact with them, somehow. I'm guessing he has a secure frequency for us." Kazak sipped his coffee to pause. "Either that or maybe there's a way to route communications between our friends back on the ship back to us. I'd much rather have the direct route myself. Aside from that, I also wonder if there's anything else he came for."

After several seconds of consideration, looking at the potential source of the salvation of countless tens of thousands of people in his hand, he set the gauntlet down on the table before pulling his mask and goggles back over his face.

"I need to make a call," He informed before keying his radio. "Hivemind, Spectre, copy?"

"Hivemind copies, Spectre," Gantas' voice came in over the comms, "Anything to report in your idle hours?"

"NTR with the exception of vermin near the ship. They are coming up from the sewers vith the rain." He carefully chose his words, unsure of what to say or how to say it without tipping off the likely SIS tap into their comms. "Could be a nest of them nearby. Vorth checking out to ensure they aren't spreading diseases vith medical supplies so low."

Gantas seemed to get an idea of what he was saying, a pause over the channel to figure out how best to word things. "Since we have nothing better to do, Spectre, look around and see where they're coming from, bring me your findings. I think the grunts should be able to handle it from there."

"Understood, Hivemind. Getting atmospheric interference on long-range. Switching to short-wave relay." He responded, waiting for Gantas' confirmation and understanding of what he was implying before following suit.

"Yes...I think I'm hearing the interference too. Let's give the short-wave a try." Gantas switched to a secure band that he was sure only he and his men had access to clear of any SIS interference. "Spectre, copy?"

"Copy, Hivemind," Rub responded, opening up his external speaker and microphone.

Vult eavesdropped and listened, gauging Rub's responses and actions as he fiddled with his equipment.

"CO?" He queried.

"Commander Vult, I'm assuming?" Gantas was a bit more at ease without SIS listening in on communications. "How's my sister been?"

"Correct. She's well looked after. Vara and Jur are as well." He answered in kind. "I'll keep this brief to not risk compromising your man here. You have a...internal problem. A problem I can rectify. I need information to intercept them. Predict when and where they will be before they get inside their primary objective. Your man, Dorum, told me a little about them. I need to know what to expect. Comms frequencies as well. In return, I'll send the mapped sewer system with your man for you to begin organizing the evacuation efforts prior to the Empire's advance."

"Excellent. That'll be helpful. I'll contact you or someone you trust over this frequency when it happens. Know this, we're going to be initiating a counter-offensive. SIS' plan as of now will be closing the gap between us and the power plant, opening up a corridor long enough for the brass, civilian government, and any other civilians we can get out. You'll know it kicking off around the time a number of your AA batteries and the field your fighters are based out of to the south goes off. These Ghost Scribe guys, there's about thirty augmented, around forty not. Weapons are standard issue in whatever we can scrounge up, plasma or mass driven. Their armor is an improvement on what we're wearing. Look out for those augmented ones. They're tougher than usual, but sustained fire won't be too survivable."

Vult recalled his forced assistance with redistributing Saro's forces along said corridor to protect against such. A moment's hesitation before he responded.

"That is ill-advised, Hivemind. Major General Saro has pulled back from the corridor and reinforced. Heavily. Whatever counteroffensive push into the corridor will be quickly collapsed by a pincer maneuver of prepared forces with heavy armor and artillery support standing by. That is why he has stopped sending units in to take and hold as of lately. Any forces committed to such will be quickly overtaken and routed."

He thought of something quick to make it less suspicious.

"Spectre pulled recon of the area and observed as such. He managed to lift such plans from a forward observation post." Vult motioned for his gauntlet, mouthing "storage?" at Rub, whom pilfered his pockets to procure a data disk to interface with it and upload the same plans. "Recommend reassessment of enemy strength and buy time for evacuation."

"I'll relay such. Doubt that'll change the mind of SIS so much, civilians aren't their priority, brass is. I know VDF commanders I can talk to, formulate a secondary strategy to buy us time." He jotted down the notes on this rather quickly, he could bluff his way through explaining how he got the info well enough. "Likely ingress routes for SIS operatives in the failsafe will either be a direct land crossing route and moving into the power-plant's phasic barrier itself or one of four underground routes. Of which four, I can't say which they'll use, only that they're marked for potential use if need be." He rattled off the locations on Rub's map for Vult to reference.

Vult took his own notes, quickly programming such into his gauntlet as Rub provided the necessary information.

"More than what we had to go on. My team and I will do what we can. No promises." Vult kept brief. "Need to cut this short before they triangulate his signal."

"Copy that. Thank you, Vult, out."

Kazak looked at the four tunnels in question and rubbed his chin. "Maybe I should grab Rha and Mizak and head out there and rig these to blow with a proximity fuse? Hard to use an underground ingress if it collapses on their heads."

Vult stroked his chin, contemplating their next course of action. Surprisingly, Rub was the first to speak.

"Too obvious. They'll know someone compromised them if all but one of their routes are collapsed and smell the trap set for them," He reasoned.

"What would you propose then?"

"Vhatever passes for heavy ordnance for your Empire. Surgical strike on the surface in three locations above ground. Collapse the tunnels from the surface."

"...sounds like something to be passed to Vaukt to get the Armada in orbit to assist." Vult reasoned, looking to Rub. "Going to need bait to justify the use of fire in an area cleared of targets already."

"It can be arranged. Just be ready for a fight vhen you confront them."

"Oh, don't worry, we will be," Kazak smirked.

"Remind me to bring along my rocket launcher," Hesa mused then paused before walking back to her room and retrieving a device from her belt. "Hey, heads up," She tossed the device to Kazak, intending for him to hand it off to Rub. "I really hope they don't have to do anything themselves, but if they do…"

"Oh, yes," Kazak held the rigged device out to Rub, it looked like a proximity mine but with the explosives removed and some rather extensive modifications made, "These things apparently seize up your suits. Jur had one of these slapped on him and everything locked up, couldn't even move his fingers. I don't know if this would be useful to have in your pocket, or if it'd work against them, but I think we were the first to find out about this weakness in the suit. They might be vulnerable to it."

Rub accepted the device, eventually being passed around to him, looking over in his palm before stuffing it in one of his pouches at his waist.

"Something to be considered, I'm sure." He muttered, looking to Vult. "Anything else?"

"I should be the one asking you that." He opened with, rising to his feet to approach the much taller, broader Vortian clad in armor from the neck down. "Nothing I can say or offer will ever forgive what the Empire has done to your home and your people...but I can assure you we are the start of something far larger in scope than you could possibly imagine. All I can ask for is patience and understanding until we reach a point to be more...open about our activity."

He extended his artificial hand. Rub's attention drifted down to it, considering the offer for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually, his own rose to begrudgingly accept it with a shake.

"Ve'll see in due time. Your intelligence vill save many lives. That alone excuses you. This time."

"To be expected." Vult jerked his head towards the door. "Get going before you attract any more unwanted attention."

Kazak grabbed his coffee cup and opened the door, checking the hall before motioning for Rub to follow and heading back up to the roof. He opened the door and looked back to see the Vortian cloaking before stepping back outside. "Always nice to meet another sniper when he's not trying to kill me. We get a chance to meet up again, you should tell me about your rifle." He left distance for Rub to move as he went back to the awning to put his coffee back over the still lit tablet of the stove. He looked around, the door closing and failing to make out the outline of the Vortian as he made his way off. He smirked, absolutely impressed with Rub's talent, clearly lived up to his reputation.