The remainder of the trip to Devastis was largely uneventful. A sense of normalcy slowly began to return to the team after several proverbial fires were put out before they became destructive infernos. The newly-christened Lieutenants fell into their roles quite soundly and proved vital in mitigating the growing list of concerns aboard the ship and among its inhabitants. Zurrak gave both Aero and Haxx a crash-course in the ins-and-outs of leadership and how to conduct themselves.
They weren't strangers with their subordinates and knew the chain-of-command. His goal was to reinforce that while they were higher-ranking and held more authority, they needed to not become deaf or blind to advice from the others. To still listen and learn from them. Unfortunately, Corr's actions in Tallum were used as an example when that is disregarded or not thought well-enough through, intentional or accidental. A lesson drafted in blood and grim reminder that mistakes were deadly and no second chances were ever given. Their respective teams' lives depended on their competency and capability of surveying the terrain and reading the situation in a timely fashion.
Their arrival to Devastis meant their Vortian "guests" had to make themselves extremely scarce. Returning to the brig, albeit with the door unlocked, and minimize moving about the ship for the duration of their docked stay. They were to be cloaked if any moving about was unavoidable and necessary. While their vessel was secure and no one dared enter a Spec Ops-assigned vessel without authorization, no chances should be taken. The wrong person spotting one of them at the wrong time would fast-track an IIA investigation that none of them needed for a plethora of life-ending reasons.
Aero's laundry list of supplies made their way to the docks as the docking crew started unloading the empty crates in preparation for all the new supplies. The resident quartermaster of their section of berths questioned many items on the Lieutenant's list to be certain. Their quantities and…eclectic nature were equally curious as they were concerning. Just who were these guys and what were they getting up to? His questions of seeking confirmation or clarity were met with obstiance. A "classified" or a "none of your business" from Aero…who may have taken advantage of her towering height and rank to bring the logistical unit into line and begin filling her massive order in short-order.
She placed Vard in charge of managing the loading of goods into the vessel hangar and made it abundantly clear to the dockworkers of what terrors and horrible punishments await them should they defy the short-statured Tech Specialists' authority in any way, shape, or form. They wisely abided by the surprising malice of the pink-eyed female.
As loading of cargo continued at their berth, the team had two primary objectives to complete during the duration of their stay at the Empire's illustrious world of war:
First, the variety of interviews. Vult, Corr, Aero, and a more lightly dressed Haxx, minding his sore ribs, proceeded to the brig. Six potential recruits, but only one slot on Purple team. Yet they were all fine soldiers, given most of the trumped up or frivolous charges. The quantity decided meant more relief and rotation of duties should future injuries require lengthy recovery and light duty. No more service gaps or being uselessly ineffective. Running the team ragged did them no favors, especially not now.
Second was part personal, part team. Corr sent Kazak off to Fort Viilan to procure Calla's goods, under the guise of grabbing a few special order parts from the motorpool there. Then he was to swing by one of the uniform supply depots and pick up an officer's hat for Aero and, if he's able, discreetly lift the uniform of someone more prominent. As the Captain emerged from his depressive slump, his forward thinking returned with it. Not to mention making Aero happy to have her fancy hat.
The quartet of officers, after finding transportation provided by Devastis' vast infrastructure, set course for the detainment center. A massive, sprawling, high-security complex whose singular purpose was the management of the undesired. Those accused of infractions against the Imperial Standard. Those deemed unfit for service or failing to meet expectations. The Empire's defectives whose days often included intense interrogation, confinement, and punishment of lesser infractions. Most of its unwilling inhabitants were awaiting evaluation. A journey to Judgementia to stand before the Control Brains and determine if their very existence would be permitted to continue. Not a mere death, but complete deletion. A removal of their code and profile from the PAK network entirely. The worst fate any Irken could suffer.
After passing through several layers of security and checkpoints, Vult and his team members were provided escort through the facility's corridors. Nothing but brutalist stone, steel, and dim lighting surrounded them. An oppressive atmosphere to reinforce how little control the accused had and their futures just as bleak.
Their armed escort, an Imperial Internal Affairs Lieutenant, brought the four of them to a waiting interview room, prepared before their arrival. Coming to a stop, polished boots turning to face their visitors with a gesture of the waiting room they stood outside of.
"General Vaukt notified us of your arrival and your requested visitation sessions. They are being prepared for your audience as we speak. Per protocol, all visitation and interviews are to be video recorded with audio."
"Actually, Lieutenant," Corr started, "we'll need you to disable cameras and sound for the duration of our interviews."
The Lieutenant arched a suspicious brow that he'd make such a request. "Any particular reason why, Captain?"
"Classified." Vult was quick to interject, sensing where this conversation was going.
To say Imperial Internal Affairs were inquisitive by nature would be an understatement. Too inquisitive for their own good at times. IIA passed for what would be considered law enforcement in other species' governments. Its operatives were typically more intelligent than the average drone or soldier with superb attention-to-detail, pursuit of absolution, and most of all, suspicion of illicit, unwanted activities that defied the Imperial Standard.
Vult's shortness and quick dismissal of his legitimate query held the Internal Affairs Officer's undivided attention, placing him on-edge.
"Be that as it may…" The IIA Lieutenant began, squinting as he leaned closer to look at Vult's collar with confusion and surprise. "Commander?...standard operating procedure dictates-"
"My authority overrides your SOPs. Are you questioning my Level 9 Security Clearance, Lieutenant? Are you questioning the orders of a higher-ranking officer? Do we need to notify your superior officer to handle this affair?"
That had his undivided attention…and a mixture of shock and a bit of fear filled his eyes. Not even the Director of IIA had Level 9 Security Clearance! This shorter-than-average Commander was threatening him with sedition! His colleagues would put him right alongside all the defective trash for such a charge without hesitation for such an infraction.
"What? N-no, Commander-"
"No cameras. No audio. Sensitive matters will be discussed on a need-to-know basis and you do not need to know, Lieutenant. I don't want to be inadvertently responsible for cutting your service to the Empire short for not following protocol. We wouldn't want that, now would we?"
Very much a polite "if I told you, I would have to kill you" that iced the blood in the IIA Lieutenant's veins and garnered a nervous swallow. The Spec Ops Commander's point was made crystal-clear.
"N-No, sir. Absolutely not, sir. I'll deactivate them myself forthwith. Wait here, they're bringing Sublieutenant Orkos and Private Radec up for you as we speak." The Lieutenant then ran off, leaving the four Irken in the hallway.
Vult watched the IIA Lieutenant run off ahead momentarily before turning his attention to Corr.
"Apologies for stepping on your toes, Captain. You have to be firm and direct with Internal Affairs. They will continue to ask questions right up until the line is crossed. It is in their programming and nature…and frankly, I'm not in the mood for twenty questions with any of them."
"Understood, Commander," Corr nodded in reply, "I forgot just how they could be."
"Pull rank and act like a jerk, got it." Aero flashed a thumb's up before she perked up at an idea, clasping her hands before her with a grin. "Ooo! Can I do the next one, Commander? Everyone thinks I'm a Super Major Ultra Omega General already anyway. Easy mode for me."
"Calm down over there, Tallest Aero." Haxx sarcastically commented.
"Almighty Tallest Aero to you, Haxx. If you're going to be a smarty-pants about it, do it right."
Haxx only mumbled in response as the Lieutenant came back from his deactivation. "Cameras and audio are disabled. You're cleared to proceed." He went to a keypad at the door and punched in the code, a green light flashing with a loud clunk as the door unlocked. The Lieutenant opened the door for them revealing the interview room: extremely bare and brutalist as the rest of the facility. Inside was a steel table with two integrated seats on either side. Though, there was an addition of three more seats on one side and a second seat on the other, bought in from other rooms for these interviews.
"They should be in shortly. I'll wait out in the hall. Yell if you need me."
"Thank you, Lieutenant," Vult nodded, "Oh, one more thing…refreshments and snacks, if you would be so kind. We are going to be here a while."
They could almost hear the Imperial Affairs officer's teeth grind in agitation.
"...of course, Commander."
"As you were, Lieutenant."
Once he was out of antenna-shot, Aero looked to her commanding officer as they made their way into the waiting room.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you, Sir?"
"I can neither confirm or deny, Lieutenant."
Haxx snickered but then stopped himself. "Wait shit that's what happened to me when I was made to run with heavy loads before, fuck."
"Only you can make yourself do that now, Haxx."
"Really?" His eyes seem to light up.
"Outside of myself and the Commander if we feel like it."
"Oh fuck you, Cap. Getting my hopes up." Haxx's tone indicated more of a jabbing nature than outright maliciousness.
"Well, wait until we're back to the ship, going to be a new item waiting for you that I think you'd appreciate."
As Corr said that, the door opened. IIA guards bringing in the shackled Private and Sublieutenant. The guards sat them down, secured their restraints to the floor and table, snapped a salute to the officers, and then left the room to wait in the hall on the prisoner side of the complex.
Orkos looked across to the four Irken before him, including to the insignia on Haxx's shirt. "You four definitely aren't IIA and his insignia indicates you're SpecOps. Yet here we are, a couple of Irken Elites. This is rather unusual."
Only after the door was closed and the magnetic locks tripped, securing all of them inside did Vult reach into the chest pocket of his uniform to procure a dataslate.
"Aero?"
"Sir?" The tall, pink-eyed female queried.
"Secure the room."
She looked at her superior for a few moments in pure confusion before it dawned on her.
"Oh! Comin' right up, Sir!" She hopped to, standing up out of her seat and approaching the camera mounted in the corner of the room. Her height made the task simple. Unceremoniously, she took hold of the attached wires and sharply yanked down, ripping them out of the device. "Room's secure, Commander."
Radec, the crimson-eyed, dark-skinned of the pair of prisoners watched this scene unfold with utter confusion. Spec Ops, requesting their audience…a bunch of soldiers with mismatched ranks…and destruction of Imperial property so nonchalantly?
"Okay…what's goin' on here? You just give her an order? She's gotta be a General or somethin'."
"I wish. That would be cool!" Aero commented, finding her seat once more.
"I did." Vult unceremoniously responded. "I am her commanding officer. Commander Vult. This is my second-in-command, Captain Corr. These two are Lieutenants Haxx and Aero. You two are Private First Class Radec and Sublieutenant Orkos, correct?"
"That…makes no sense." Orkos blinked at Vult's explanation of ranks. "You're both clearly Lieutenant height," he motioned to Corr and Vult with his restrained hands, "He's a Sergeant, as am I, height wise," he motioned to Haxx next. "And she? She's almost as tall as General Yarnitch was, definitely a General."
"Taller now after havin' his head blown off." Radec scoffed in dark humor. "...so there's a whole lotta weirdness goin' on right here. What's the deal? What does a bunch of Spec Ops want to do with two Elites on death row?"
"The deal, Private," Corr answered, "is that we got clearance very high up to see you and…evaluate you ourselves. See if you're suitable."
Radec blinked, confused further.
"Suitable for what? Is this our actual evaluation or some sick joke?"
"Suppose this could be substituted for your evaluation and save the trip to Judgementia," Vult reasoned, sifting through the information on the dataslate. Prepared notes, questions, and reminders of their respective dossiers. "As the Captain stated, we are here to evaluate you as potential candidates to be recruited into our unit beneath my command. As you have acutely observed, we are rather unorthodox. However, due to the sensitive nature of our assignments, we must thoroughly screen candidates before proceeding with recruitment. That is what this is, a screening."
"For what?" Radec was quick to challenge.
"Whether I am going to waste my time or not in bringing you aboard." Vult fired right back.
The red-eyed male nodded, almost approvingly.
"Alright…already an improvement over Commander Turd."
"I thought his name was Tiln." Aero spoke, confused.
"It is." Radec smirked at her.
"Commander Turd has his head so far up his c'hurta it's amazing he can even issue orders properly." Orkos added in.
"Uniform violations and the like?" Corr asked.
"While we were being shot at, Captain. His concern should be directing fire from the battalion level and keeping us alive but nooooo. I kinda wish at times one of those Vortian snipers would've made him a head shorter too. Saved us all a headache, and the entire unit from being charged with cowardice because we wanted to live."
"So I've read in your dossiers," Vult gestured with the dataslate. "The Captain and I reviewed them and felt it prudent to get your side of the story on some of these events. Typically, I take the chain-of-command and bearing very seriously. Discipline and order under duress is what keeps people alive…not worrying about unbutton collars or wrinkled creases."
Radec's restrained wrists upturned with a shrug, chains jostling and clinking.
"Well, what do you wanna know? If it's 'bout layin' Commander Turd out on his c'hurta, I will take it to the day I'm deactivated he deserved it…callin' us cowards…lucky I didn't kill him."
"Yeah, I'm with Radec, he definitely deserved it. All I ever managed to do was call him unsavory things over the radio." Orkos shook his head, "I was one of the highest ranking officers left of the unit when we were encircled. Tiln, the coward he is, was outside the encirclement back at our HQ. I decided to give everyone in the unit an option of staying and dying to a Vortian encirclement or taking the wounded from ours and other units, using our vehicles, and breaking out. Well, you see which one a good deal of men chose. Some of the more sympathetic guards even told me that most of the wounded we saved were patched up and lived thanks to what we did."
"Sounds like you two are basically heroes to some of the guys on Vort." Haxx chimed in, "Especially if the guards were giving you outside news."
"If those we saved weren't subsequently mulched somewhere else…I think those we saved would gladly buy us a drink."
"If they ended up back under Tiln, they're probably fertilizer now." Radec dejectedly spoke.
Vult, making shorthand notes about observations in how they responded and recollected to their questions, looked up from the dataslate.
"Can either of you give me a brief summary of events that transpired leading up to and during the encirclement?" He pursued, gesturing to them with his stylus. The red-eyed male peered closer at the Commander's hand. That wasn't a glove he was wearing…that was his hand…an artificial one.
"In a sec…what's the deal with your hand there?" He pointed.
Pausing, the Commander lifted the appendage in question, turning his palm over as if studying it and giving the two prisoners a better look at it.
"This…" He began, setting the dataslate down in front of Corr before unbuttoning his cuff and rolling his uniform sleeve up to reveal more of the mechanical marvel. "...is how I am able to continue doing my job and remaining in service to the Empire."
"How'd you lose it?"
"Classified."
"Pfft. 'Course it is." Radec sneered.
"So…you were with the 524th under Tiln, ordered to advance and continue assaulting the VDF line as it fell back and collapsed. What happened that led up to the encirclement?"
Orkos looked intently at the Commander's hand. The artificial muscle, the plating, all of it…it looked so much more advanced, streamlined, downright a work of art compared to anything cobbled up by some Imperial types he's seen on other Spec Ops. Where did he even get such a thing?
"Lieutenant," Corr spoke, snapping Orkos' attention back to the moment.
"Right, sorry, I was admiring the craftsmanship." He replied and then cleared his throat. "Basically, directives from Supreme Commander Grimm were one word: Advance. We were trying to make headway to Tallum as quickly as possible. Only one division of Troopers were able to keep up with us, the rest fell behind trying to clear our rear. We were exposed. VDF broke through in two places, outflanked a good deal of us, and the only contact we had with our own HQ after that was by radio."
"Y'know that sense of dread you get…when you know somethin' really bad's 'bout to happen?" Radec added in, equal parts sarcastic as he was serious in recollection. "Doubt there wasn't a single one of us that didn't feel that. Strategically sprintin' headlong into enemy lines when your supplies an' relief can't keep up? Recipe for disaster an' it was only a matter of time. Not sure how exactly…poor communication or bad luck, but the 428th and 483rd stretched out thin across the front. Why, I dunno, not my unit…but it made not one, but two weak spots in our advance…and the VDF took full advantage to smash through 'em like they werent' even there. Every bit of mechanized and armor they had left rolled right over 'em and circled back behind us. We just found out the other day both of 'em had no survivors."
"The Vortians trapped all of us. Parts of them were trapped in there with us but were the first ones they eliminated as they clamped us further and further down in the pocket." Orkos rubbed his face. "The Vortians were even using trucks along with their tracked vehicles, Commander. Civilian as well as military. Such was their resolve to see all of us dead. Of the six divisions we had in there we pulled out…what was it, Radec, a couple thousand?"
"Sounds 'bout right. They knew where an' how hard to hit us. Not hard to pick us apart an' death by a thousand cuts when we don't have any support an' nowhere to escape to."
"The Vortians put a large bulge in our lines and the Troopers behind us couldn't break through to save us. Vortians had us cornered. Captain Urik asked for permission to break out. Commander Turd denied it. Not even hours later he's blown apart by a Vortian AT gun."
"Told us "not one step back" and to hold that position per Grimm's orders." Radec shook his head. "Yeah, I'm gonna hold a completely surrounded plot of city blocks gettin' pummeled into dust by non-stop artillery WHILE squeezin' us on all sides with infantry an' armor."
"Towed guns too." Orkos added in.
"They threw everything but the kitchen sink at us!"
"Yeah…we're familiar with that much." Aero admitted with a sigh.
"You guys were on Vort?"
"Who wasn't?" The pink-eyed Lieutenant huffed, hearing Vult clear his throat at her. "Uhh…I mean that's classified."
"Well you know how it is dealing with them then." Orkos took advantage of Aero's slip. "After Captain Urik bit the dust, command of what was left of the unit fell to me of all people. Me. I'm just a field commissioned Sergeant. Looking at what was left of the Brigade and the untenable position we were in…blast the orders, it was in the best interest of the Empire at large that we force a breakout and rush back to our lines. Save more lives than throw them away."
"Naturally, like any good soldier does, we followed orders against better judgment. Nobody wanted to risk…well, where we're at now. Made due with what we had. That…idiot made us pack light for the advance. Less weight meant we could move faster and farther. All it got us was bein' left hangin' in the wind and grindin' the whole offensive to a halt after the VDF got their morale boost and emboldened."
"Commander Tiln made you pack light?" Vult queried, seeking clarification.
"Yep, dropped everything else back with the Troopers. All we had were a few days' worth of provisions, our rifles, an' power cells." Radec sneered, remembering the awful conditions. "Jerkoff didn't even let us take bedrolls. I had 'nuff of sleepin' on the ground in the open elements after two weeks."
"Wait, you couldn't even take basic stuff?" Aero pursued.
"Lieutenant, I slept in the back of one of our APCs for the entire duration of that." Orkos sighed, "A chair in the passenger compartment is more comfortable than nothing. Our supply trucks we had with us only carried maybe an extra week's worth of ammo with them. We used almost all of it. We were down to our last power cells when I ordered the breakout. By the time we got back to our lines our vehicles were dangerously low on power. Some of our trucks broke down on the way back and those inside had to run the last leg of it even."
"Turd ordered us to advance…he didn't say in what direction," Radec cheekily commented. "I'm just glad those Troopers didn't get pummeled into oblivion to our rear…don't think we would've made it out alive had they not been at the VDF's backs and us to their front. Either way, like Orkos said…two weeks go by, those of us still alive are starving. Nobody's gotten sleep for days with all the artillery an' constant assaults. Same sentiment was shared by all of us left: We stay here, we die. We had to get out."
"A fair assessment beneath the circumstances." The Commander reasoned with a nod. "How was that plan to defy your superior's orders brought up and accepted by your fellow Elites?"
"Some of the others wanted to follow orders. Fine, let them fight their fruitless rear guard action." Orkos sighed, "There were others of us who wanted to get out. I had more volunteers want to join our breakout attempt from the division of Troopers that were surrounded with us. I took them and any who wanted to go with me and went for it. They were hungry, tired…they wanted to live. It was honestly the assessment of all of us that we'd do more good to the Empire alive and folded into another unit than a bunch of corpses left rotting in the sun."
"I was one of those volunteers. Chain-of-command got whittled down pretty thin after two weeks of this garbage. Most of us wanted a hot meal, a bed, an' a shower, live to fight 'nother day. Let the VDF take their short-lived victory and come back later to smash 'em proper. More of us wanted out than to stand our ground for nothing, so we had some numbers backing the plan."
"What was that plan, exactly?" Vult pursued, genuinely curious.
"Under the cover of darkness the night before, reposition what armor we had left to the rear. We got in contact with some of the Trooper units at our rear and told them what the plan was. Kept it on the down-low so Turd wouldn't find out 'bout it. They brought up what they could muster in preparation as well. The ones that wanted to stay an' fight could take up the vacated positions with AT if they felt inclined. Next mornin', just before daybreak, both sides opened up on the VDF units between us. Knocked out armor left and right. Never seen so many destroyed tanks before. They expected the fight, but not the ferocity and the focus. Same thing happened to them that happened to us. Line broke and we poured through the hole to get to the Troopers."
"We had a handful of tanks and a single Megadoomer left to our name in that pocket. Thanks to those and the AT guns from the Troopers behind us that we managed to get out. Once our runners caught up, the Troopers ceased fire and the Vortians took their positions back…don't think those left in there lasted much longer. Weren't even back for an hour before Turd swung by and declared our entire unit a bunch of cowards and placed us under arrest. IIA brought us to some jail in the suburbs. Overcrowded…one by one I watched most of the unit leave…except Radec and I."
"Why do you think that is, Lieutenant?" The Commander asked amidst his note taking. "All of you were guilty of the same charges, were you not?"
"Yeah, sure, we were but when you're hemorrhaging soldiers and support, they need meat for the grinder at the front." Radec scoffed. "As to why just us? Well…Orkos led the whole thing. Me? I socked Turd in his mouth in front of everyone when he barged into the mess tent lookin' for us. I hadn't eaten in days. I was filthy, my uniform in rags, and I forgot what sleep felt like. After getting out of that nightmare, alive…I stood up an' tried to put my fist through his face. He hit the deck, out cold. None of the Elites stopped me, only Internal Affairs pounced on me."
"Explains the comment…" Vult muttered, his stylus never ceasing to jot down taken information.
"Took four of them to tackle Radec and get him in cuffs. I told him that it's just like I said over the radio. He's got his head so far up his c'hurta he can't see daylight." Once IIA had me in cuffs Turd…delivered a pretty good spooch shot on me. Bet that wasn't in your notes. Of course he'd only want to punch someone who wouldn't fight back."
"He hits like a girl."
"Excuse you?" Aero narrowed her eyes at Radec's comment.
"Easy, Lieutenant," The Commander gently reminded. "Did IIA bring you straight here after that?"
"It was that suburban jail on Vort first," Orkos answered. "IIA evaluated us in the field, released most of the unit back to go die for Grimm and Turd's crazy plan I guess. We were there for maybe a week before they brought us to Devastis on the first available transport." His head turned to Radec, "Can you not piss off the General playing Lieutenant? She looks like she could knock our daylights out. Unlike Turd."
"I'd break you over my knee, little man."
"Aero."
"Sorry, Sir."
Vult, setting down the datapad, he folded his hands before him while adjusting his posture in his chair.
"Captain, Lieutenants…have you any questions for these two?"
Corr shook his head. Hearing what they said basically confirmed the feelings he had. He liked both of them.
"Seems like team players to me," Haxx said, smirking, "Also genuinely like their attitudes. Hard chargers, thinking, clearly have a mind over matter mentality if they can go that long without eating or resupply. Kinda remind me of…well, me."
"We do?" Orkos asked.
"Well, yeah. I wasn't always a Lieutenant, used to do Heavy Weapons, was much the same as you two. Look where I am now. And if anything, Orkos here knows what that's like, field commissioned officer and all. Just one question; you two like PT?"
"No pain, no gains," Orkos answered. "I have one of the highest bench presses in the unit. Well…had, don't really have a unit anymore."
"Orkos needs someone's back to look at on runs," Radec taunted with a smirk. "My service record speaks for itself."
"It has. It is why we've had this conversation in the first place." Vult concluded, motioning with his hands to the two accused before him. "Both of you clearly have your minds in the right headspace. You're capable soldiers who perform duress and place the needs of the unit ahead of your own. That is precisely the type of people I'm looking for. I don't make assumptions, but seeing as your alternative is to take your chances with evaluation with the Control Brains…I'd like to formally extend an offer to join my team."
"Su-" Radec began, being interrupted by the Commander's intense azure gaze and a stipulating finger.
"However…this is your last unit you will be a part of. There are no transfers. Disciplinary actions are internal. This is very much a for-life station. Only way you are getting out is in a body bag."
"As opposed to any other Irken Elite assignment?" The red-eyed male huffed. "I'm in. Anything beats gettin' my plug pulled for stupid reasons."
The similarly azure eyed, pale green skinned Sublieutenant nodded. "Yeah, count me in too. Like I want to get my off button pressed because some idiot who shouldn't be an officer got his fragile feelings hurt."
With that, Vult added his signature of authorization to the dataslate.
"Congratulations, gentlemen. Evaluation concluded. Fit for service…and your infractions are buried under Level 9 Security Clearance."
Radec blinked. "Just like that…we're free?"
"You sound surprised."
"I am! Level 9? So…nobody's gonna know how we ended up here?"
"Far as anyone else is concerned, you were transferred to my unit immediately after breaking out of the encirclement." Vult reasoned, gesturing to Corr. "You have their onboarding slates prepared?"
Corr nodded, reaching into a messenger bag he had on his person and pulling a pair of them out and sliding them across the table to the shackled pair. "You may be stuck in your cells for a short while longer until we arrange for your transport. You lasted this long, I think you can wait a while longer."
"What're these?" Radec queried.
"Information for both of you. There's a series of tasks you need to complete once you are released. Securing equipment from the quartermaster, uniforms, that sort of thing. Once that has all been taken care of, you will be brought aboard our ship to be settled in and the next step can begin."
"An extra hour or two? Yeah that's not awful." Orkos nodded as he took up his slate to take a look. "We never get to see some of this stuff as Elites."
"Yeah, I know the feeling all too well," Haxx said.
Vult resisted the urge to smile knowingly at Orkos' words.
"Lieutenant, I am going to introduce you to a whole other world you didn't know existed before today. I hope you're ready."
Orkos looked up to Vult, practically grinning, "Command me, I'll do whatever you need."
"What I like to hear." He smirked, reaching across the table with his artificial hand to shake. "Welcome aboard. Haxx, get their attention to unlock the door and get these two on their way to being released."
"Guard!" Haxx yelled, within a few seconds the prisoner side buzzed, as did their own. The Lieutenant and the guards entered the room.
Corr looked to the prisoner side guards first, "Take these two back and make sure they pack their things for processing out of here. We'll have the paperwork for you at the end of this," The Guards nodded and set to work to bring Orkos and Radec back to their cells for the moment as Corr turned to the Lieutenant, "Can we have Corporal Deris bought in next?"
"Yes, Captain," the Lieutenant replied and transmitted the order over his handset.
"How about those snacks and drinks?" Haxx spoke up next, drawing an irritated glance from the IIA Lieutenant.
"They should be here shortly…"
"Good, kinda getting hungry."
The food and drinks arrived first. Within maybe ten seconds of the Lieutenant leaving, Corporal Deris arrived and was secured to the table much the same as Orkos and Radec were before the guards left.
Corr turned to Aero, "I think you may want to take the lead with the Commander for this one. Very much your field of expertise."
"What? Who, me?"
"You're the only Lieutenant Aero in this room, are you not?" Vult asked of her in a less-than-serious tone.
"Thats-...yes…yes, I am, Sir." She sighed. "Still kinda new to all this officer stuff."
"All the more reason why you should take point on this one."
The Trooper Corporal seemed dejected. Emerald eyes, brown skin, and he looked like he hadn't known sleep for days. Downtrodden, taken away from what he loves, and having been occupying a cell with the idea that he was going to be knocked off just for doing his job. A sad realization for anyone who loves what they do. "I said it once, I'll say it again, I was doing my job keeping vehicles running." He sounded almost robotic, not even noticing that the four in front of him weren't IIA.
The willowy, pink-eyed female at the horrendously low rank for her height brightly smiled at the Corporal with a wave.
"Hi!"
Deris looked up to Aero. Brightness? Wait, tall? Oh no a General. The Corporal's attitude shifted quickly as he straightened up in his chair. "Good morning, General, ma'am!"
Haxx snickered. It was humorous seeing the reaction of everyone thinking Aero being far above her station.
"Um, what's funny Sergeant?" Deris queried.
"Lieutenant," Haxx retorted. It was then that Deris started taking in the others, noticing their different uniforms, definitely not IIA. He paused, blinked, and leaned down to rub his eyes to his hands shackled on the table before sitting back up and blinking once more.
"Okay, I'm not dreaming, you guys aren't IIA. Sorry, I…I'm out of it. I thought I had sleep deprivation in the motorpool, these guys are being downright brutal with me."
"Oh nooo, what are they doing?" Aero spoke with great concern.
"Aero." Vult gently reminded.
"Right, evaluation." She adjusted, sitting up straighter as she took ownership of the dataslate and manipulated several pages on it. "You aaaaare…Corporal Deris, yes? Grease monkey extraordinaire?"
"Uh, yes, General," he stopped and squinted, "Lieutenant?" That was weird. "But, yes, workaholic mechanic and…I guess I'm also a machinist even if my record won't show that."
"Awesome!" Her bubbly personality chimed. "Sooo…how'd ya end up here?"
Vult, patiently, leaned over and tapped the dataslate screen. She peered closer with a sheepish smile.
"Right, excessive tardiness. Missing formations. Gotcha…how come?"
"If you know what was going on Vort I'll spare you the details but…I had a backlog about a klik long." The Corporal's long explanation started, "Vehicle after vehicle coming in with some issue or another. I did my job: part replacement, welding, riveting if I had to. Whatever needed to be done was done. Supply situation was so bad I couldn't even get the parts I needed at times. Ended up using a Vortian machine shop in the motorpool we were attached to so I could make parts. I can't tell you how many times I woke up on a roller board or in a chair in a vehicle…think the longest I went without even seeing my rack was almost three weeks. Day, night, I worked…of course I was going to be late to formations."
"Wooow…wait…you said you used a Vortian machine shop? How'd you not get in trouble for that?" Aero genuinely pursued. "So much as look at non-standard equipment and tech lands you here, don't it?"
"...Part of why I didn't sleep. Did that in the dead of night." Deris sighed, "They're going to kill me anyways, why bother trying to hide that I did it?" He spoke as if he was still doomed. "I keep everything running and they just want to throw me away."
A pursed expression of contemplation etched itself into Aero's features. A lull of silence overcame the room.
"Aero?" The Commander addressed.
"Huh? Yes?"
"Something wrong?"
"No, not at all, Sir! Just…not sure what else to ask."
Vult turned his attention back to the accused across the table from them.
"Corporal, you stated that you had a backlog of repairs to be made over a klik long…I assume you are referring to Imperial vehicles parked front-to-back? Why the backlog? Where was the rest of your unit?"
"Commanders saw it fit to have them run on delivery duty or scrounging for supplies…those willing to bend the rules started making use of captured VDF vehicles and even civilian vehicles. They requested replacements as soon as they could just so they don't get caught. So woefully inefficient." He sighed, "But, yes, I've even had Megadoomers hauled in on Vortian civilian flatbed trucks. The motorpool itself was crammed, I had vehicles and mechs going down the street front to back, all the vehicles that were fixed I parked outside for the others to run them around." He sighed again shaking his head. "I don't know why they're mad at me over formations. I made sure everything was as good as factory made, if not better. I'm just one guy, how can I keep an entire division's worth of vehicles operable especially with some…fresh from the tank, smeet faced officer demanding a strict 09 to 17 workday for us…another order I ignored and so did several others, Commander."
Building off of the Commander's inquiry, the abnormally-tall Lieutenant jumped back into the conversation.
"All the impossible demands made of you, your quality of work never slipped?"
"Not at all. What made things worse in the workload is that I had non-coms and officers coming in and asking for me by name to work on their vehicles. I…I really just love what I do and I'm glad some people liked my work but my superiors seem to think formation appearance is more important than the war effort."
"There is a time and place for formations and maintaining discipline," Vult countered, getting the Corporal's attention. "...in an active theater of war isn't one of them. Especially not one the Empire is struggling to keep their heads above water in."
"Right, your job came first and you did everything you could to do your job to the best of your abilities." Aero nodded, another pause as she mentally articulated her words in preparation. "...to recap…you…exhibited resourcefulness in making use of the equipment and tools around you, Empire-issue or otherwise…dedication to your craft is evident, as is your quality of work…"
Her eyes scanned the table, noting the partial or empty soda cans her squadmates had partaken in since the arrival of refreshments. Taking up the Captain's empty can, she went to pick up Haxx's half-full one.
"Chug that, I need the can." She insisted. "And a welding wand and hood."
"Wait, what?" Deris looked in confusion at the others at the table.
"I think she wants a demonstration," Corr noted.
"Yup!" She confirmed, taking the can from Haxx no sooner than he was done as he went to the door to get the guards' attention.
"Lieutenant!" Haxx yelled and banged on the door behind them.
"I…" Aero began, setting both empty cans down in front of Deris. "Want you to weld these together, bottom-to-bottom flush."
Deris watched the two Lieutenants have their conversation, the IIA Lieutenant shooting Haxx a very confused look before running off to get the needed tools from the supply closet. Deris already set about looking at the task ahead of him. His eyes glanced about, already formulating his work in his head.
While they waited for the appropriation of the necessary items, Vult looked to his subordinate.
"Why the soda cans, Aero?"
"They're SUPER thin…and aluminum! Welding aluminum is tough 'nuff when it's thick plates and struts…I wanna see how skilled he is at welding!"
"...She's right. Basically I'd rather weld cast iron than a job like this," Deris mentioned as he took the tabs and started fashioning a rudimentary set of keys out of them using nothing but his hands and the table. "I have done that once, fixed a frying pan so I could cook myself food while I worked. Let me tell you it's not easy."
"Anyone can turn a wrench or change filters…this…is art." She beamed, eager to see what he was capable of. "Oh, also, you might wanna shield your eyes when he starts. No blindness for anyone today."
The door opened behind them, the Lieutenant handing Haxx a pair of welding hoods and the welding wand, a portable self contained version meant for confined spaces. The items went straight to the table. The door shut behind him as Haxx took an empty can and decided to go stand in the corner to stay away from the demonstration.
Noting the Lieutenant's posture, Vult felt it prudent to do much of the same as he stood from the table. He had seen Aero hard at work in the hangar with her own welder. Quite the visual spectacle of hot sparks.
Corr joined the Lieutenant after watching Deris take his makeshift keys and undo the shackles around his wrist, giving him the ability to work. "I…how?"
"...Funny story. When I was asleep, someone handcuffed me to a steering wheel. All I had was a nearby soda can and, well, I had more tools but I was able to get cuffs off of me." With his hands freer to work and the Captain stepping away from the table, the Corporal donned the helmet and set to work after making sure the bottles were aligned. A few small test spots to gauge the material on the top of one of the cans before he set about welding the two bottoms together, extreme precision and a solid weld as he removed his hood and slid the finished piece across to Aero.
"I genuinely hope you're not going to ask me to rivet something in here. They might find that extremely suspicious."
Waiting long enough for the cans to cool from the thermal transfer of the welder, Aero snatched up the finished product. The two cans had become one, perfectly aligned, and one of the smoothest beads securing them together she had ever seen in her life. Enamored with the quality of work, she barely paid attention to her surroundings.
"Lieutenant?" Vult queried, snapping his natural, remaining fingers before her face.
Startled, she set the demonstration piece down on the table.
"Well? Assessment?"
"...its beautiful. Nearly perfect." She answered in a daze before snapping back to reality, turning to her commanding officer with eager excitement. "We need him! He'd do great!"
The Commander resisted a bemused smile at his subordinate's behavior. Easily excitable, that one was. His artificial hand gestured to the Corporal.
"Present the offer to him then, Lieutenant. This is your interview."
No sooner than the words left Vult's mouth, she spun about to plant her palms on the table. Leaning in close with a wide smile and practically vibrating in place, she spoke.
"You wanna do super awesome cool stuff with us? We're like Spec Ops, but better!"
He blinked. Spec Ops? Him? The smile he had on his face disappeared again. "I knew this was too good to be true. I'm a Trooper and a mechanic. Why me? I'm just a fixer upper. I mean I can probably hotwire anything out there and I've had to do it a few times for diagnosis of the steering column's keys but…I'm not…really a fighter. They didn't even issue me a pistol. If some Vortians showed up I'd have to fight them with a crowbar."
"Oh, don't you worry none 'bout that. We got all kinds of training aids. There's this awesome simulator aboard our ship-"
"Aero." Vult interrupted, remaining cordial.
"Right…discretion, uhh…well…I…can't go into too many details here. Classified and all that. BUT! If you accept, you…will not be…left wanting?" She articulated, looking to Vult for approval.
"That's right…excellent way of putting it, Lieutenant." He complimented, looking to the Corporal. "Just know this will be your last assignment. No transfers. Only way you're leaving is on a slab. My team is…unorthodox, to say the least. That is neither here or there though…all of this pends on your choice. I'm never one to make assumptions as the alternative is to take your chances with the Control Brains, but the out is there if you're willing to apply yourself and meet my expectations."
"...Are there a lot of things to fix?" He sighed, already redoing the shackles on his wrist for whenever the guards come back in, "I suppose if you guys really want a mechanic around I can try. It beats taking my chances on Judgmentia where they'd throw me away as some insignificant nobody or send me to Foodcourtia for being useless."
Aero laughed at his query.
"Oh, you've got noooo idea…we break stuff all the time…a lot." She smiled, watching as the Captain presented him with a similar dataslate to that of Orkos and Radec. "Sooo…there's a to-do list for you after you're released from this awful place. After it's done, be at that location by that time and we'll get you settled in aboard the ship!"
The Commander nodded in approval, looking at Deris and presenting his metal hand to shake. "Welcome aboard, Corporal. I expect great things from you."
The prosthetic suddenly got Deris' attention as the Corporal looked it over. "Synthetic muscle," the Corporal shook the Commander's hand but he was also getting a feel for it as he did. "This is some of the finest made stuff I've ever felt. The workmanship, this use of metal," the realization hit Deris as he looked up at Vult. "This stuff isn't Imperial construction at all, is it? It's far too nice. If you got more stuff like this I definitely want to work with it."
"He definitely seems excited," Corr mentioned as he opened a bag of chips.
"I never got a chance to work with materials as nice as that. I love what I do, I would love to expand what I know in my field."
"Just wait until you see your future work area." Aero excitedly spoke. "...so…any questions?"
"...Just be gentle." Daris sheepishly said as Haxx called for the guards to take Daris back to his cell to get his things and wait to leave.
"Okay, so, that leaves us with Sergeant Aren, Corporal Lorlo, and a Private Chavsa," Haxx looked over the list of people left on the interview roster. "Who's next? The tech nut turned demo expert? The Heavy Sergeant? The pilot?"
"Private Chasva, I have other plans for," Vult spoke. "Currently awaiting authorization from General Vaukt, but it is likely to happen. The other two we will interview here today."
Corr rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments. "Lieutenant!" Corr called as the door opened. "Bring us Sergeant Aren."
"Right away, Captain." The door shut behind the Lieutenant.
"Haxx, you take this one," Corr started, "you are the former Heavy Weapons Sergeant."
"Yeah, figured as much." Haxx returned to his seat at the table as Aren was brought in and secured by the guards before they took their leave.
The restrained Sergeant sneered at the Internal Affairs officer with a huff before settling back into her uncomfortable chair. Only then did she see the amount of brass looking back at her across the table…and their uniforms. Spec Ops? Strangest version of them yet she'd personally seen.
"Look, I already told them everything. I did what I had to do to survive. This is crap."
"Yeah, no kidding," Haxx replied. "You pick up, what, a Vortian Type 60 out there to defend yourself after running out of ammo in that meat grinder and they want to end your existence for it. Adapt or die, what Elites live by, you adapted, and now they want you to die for it. It's extremely unfair."
"Yep. Pretty well covers it." Aren scoffed. "Ran dry on my primary, dry on my pistol, and all I had left was my knife." Her yellow eyes narrowed to venomous slits. "My commanding officer had the audacity to say I should've used it instead of a freakin' gun!"
"That's dumb. Like really dumb." Aero concurred. "Also, I really like your eyes. I've never seen an Irken with yellow eyes!"
"Aero." Vult sighed. "...this is Haxx's interview."
"Right, sorry."
Aren's confusion only compounded at the exchange as she processed their interactions. The…General was taking orders from a Lieutenant? Who she assumed was Haxx was a Lieutenant and not a Sergeant? What was going on?
"Well, as I was going to say. I know how it is, more than you possibly realize." Haxx started up once more, "You're a Sergeant, were you doubling as a squad leader while lugging around the machine gun at the same time?"
"Had to. Lose enough people and the squad needed the base of fire. Wasn't a problem until my Lieutenant was vaporized by a direct hit from VDF armor. Hard to issue orders over sustained automatic fire. We made due though."
Haxx grinned, this was something he liked, versatile, tough, may very well be worth the effort. "Tell me one thing; say you got a chance to go back right now, back to that same moment where you had to make that choice to pick up that Vortian gun. Would you do it all over again?"
The accused Sergeant looked at him incredulously.
"...as opposed to not picking it up an' ending up skewered on a Vortian bayonet? What kind of idiodic question is that?" She scoffed, huffing with a shake of her head. "...maybe I'm the idiot because doing what I thought was the best thing under the circumstances…y'know, preserving my life and my squad's lives…landed me a one-way trip here. All because I picked up a blue weapon instead of a purple one that do the EXACT SAME THING!"
"You know what, boss, I like her." Haxx grinned, "I like you, and I like your attitude. How'd you like to do a job where if you do that, it doesn't end up with you landing here?"
"Does it get me outta here and not on the chopping block for deactivation?" Aren pointedly asked.
"So long as you can meet expectations, just like any other unit." Vult went on to explain. "Unlike the rank-and-file, I'm not going to punish you for staying alive and using your wits. I don't care if you use a rock to defend yourself. Coming back in one piece is what matters most to me."
"Sign me up then."
"Before you commit to that, be forewarned; this is your final station. Only way you're leaving my unit is death. Largely due to the sensitive nature of our assignments. Not even my commanding officer can review unredacted reports of our activities."
"We're kinda a big deal," Aero whispered to her with a grin.
"Well…now I'm definitely interested then. Beats dealing with idiots trying to get me killed on my own side all the time AND punishing me for surviving their terrible decisions."
"Haha, I knew you were a smart one the second I laid eyes on you." Haxx banged a celebratory fist on the table as Corr slid another dataslate over to her. "We got a couple more people to look at. But this is a list of things you'll need to do once they let you out of here. Once you and the others get those done, we'll get you on board and settled in. Really looking forward to working with you, Aren." Haxx extended a hand to shake Aren's.
"Well, that leaves Corporal Lorlo and Private Chavsa," Corr started as the two Heavy Weapons trained Irken shook hands. "Let's bring in the tech whiz."
And so it went for one more round. Aren headed back to gather her things and leave the facility as the guards brought in Corporal Lorlo. As the guards secured Lorlo, Vult received a message on his datapad.
[FROM: General Vaukt, Special Operations Command
TO: Commander Vult, ASOG-1
SUBJECT: Personal Request
The Admirals are extremely displeased and have not stopped calls with extremely unflattering comments to it. I have returned the comments in kind. However, rest assured, your request has been granted. The craft requested will be standing by at Krad AB on the tarmac, pending your arrival. I couldn't get them to hand over the experimental AI for the Weapon Systems Operator seat. Still under development.
I have passed your message on to the lead flight instructor at Krad AB as well. They are morbidly curious to what you have in store for their cadets. Give them a good show, will you?
-Vaukt
P.S. - For the love of Irk, make sure that thing lands in one piece. The Admirals have enough ammunition to use as-is. They don't need more.]
The Commander's visage broke into a faint smile of approval. The General came through. Standing from his seat, he pushed his chair in.
"Captain, I leave this evaluation in your capable hands," He began, pocketing his personal dataslate. "General Vaukt notified me of my request being approved. Sooner this is seen to, the better…apparently the Armada is blowing up his inbox with their displeasure over it."
"Screw 'em," Aero scoffed, immediately clasping her hands over her mouth with a gasp. "What I meant to say is "Long Live the Empire!"."
Taking a great deal of personal restraint, Vult simply nodded before turning his attention back to the Captain. "I will rendezvous with you back at the ship."
Aero was fortunate the guards had left when she made her comment but it earned her quite a look from Lorlo.
"Understood, Commander, good luck with…whatever it is you're doing." He started pulling up Lorlo's dossier to give it a quick review as Vult knocked on the door behind him and stepped out.
"Commander, one of my men just informed me that Private Chavsa is to be transported to Krad air base. They're prepping her for transport but this transport form still needs your signature." He held out the dataslate.
Ensuring the door closed and locked properly behind him, he glanced at the contents of the form presented on the dataslate. He never took anything for face value. Not anymore. As decreed, it was in fact an authorization form for Chasva's transport. His signature, as requested, quickly applied on the bottom line.
"There you are. See to it that it's expedited. I am on a tight timetable."
"Will do, sir. She'll be there." The Lieutenant walked off to a control room to make a call to see Chasva's transfer expedited.
Within the interview room, Corr sent a quick message to Vard.
[Send me one of your more difficult hacking exercises that can be performed on a dataslate as soon as you can. I require it for a demonstration for the tech skills of one of the potential recruits.
-Corr]
The Captain then cleared his throat, giving the Corporal a once over. "Lorlo, how have you been faring since you've been detained by IIA?"
"...okay? This isn't exactly Paradosio, Sir…and why isn't she asking the questions?" His restraints clinked and clanked as he gestured to Aero. "...and did you say…screw the Armada?"
"No! Absolutely not! I'd never do something like that, ever!" Aero quickly defended, glancing to Corr for assistance. She slipped up…big time.
"She's a Lieutenant, so no, to address your first question." Corr remained calm as he addressed the Corporal's concerns. "Second, she means that in the sense of interservice rivalry between us on the ground and the Armada, nothing more than that. No need to worry. You know how it is: Armada does the flying, we on the ground do the dying." He paused to take a sip of his drink. "You were noted by your superiors as deficient in your primary duties as a technical expert but I saw you were also cross-trained in demolitions. Can you elaborate further as to your circumstances?"
Albeit suspicious still after the Captain's explanation, he left it lie for the time being. Not as if he was in any position to say or do anything about it anyway…or cared to, frankly. The Corporal's attention drifted back to Corr.
"Difficult for me to perform my duties when they saddle me with another field entirely. I've got no experience in…and can easily kill you if you make a mistake. Dealing with explosives and learning in the field sort of took my undivided attention, Captain. Hard enough to not get blasted by the Vortians, let alone blowing myself up because of a crossed wire or bad charge prep."
"So what you're saying is they made you focus on being a demolitions specialist rather than your primary job?" Corr asked, making a straightforward inference.
"Yes, Sir. Our assigned specialist was killed in action and replacements were…spotty at best. Nobody knew why, only that they weren't arriving to replenish the ranks." Lorlo answered, articulating his response. "My unit was primarily used for frontline assaults and dealing with dug-in VDF. Emplacements, barricades, debris, things of that nature. Other teams would suppress them and we would advance to plant charges or toss grenades in the gunports. Terrifying stuff but I'm still here somehow."
"Which speaks to your tenacity and skill in demolitions. Clearly you're not foolish or a slacker in your duties, to your credit. Though, what about tech? How skilled are you in your primary job?" Corr glanced down to his dataslate to see if his request from Vard had been fulfilled.
Lorlo gave a humorless huff.
"...apparently I suck so bad at it they sent me here. I'll admit…I'm not the quickest at it, but when you stick me on demolition duty for months non-stop, then throw me back into tech specialist, there's bound to be a little bit of rust. Lack of speed and mistakes because I largely forgot a lot of things I needed to re-teach myself…that or maybe all the concussive waves scrambled my brain meat."
As Lorlo spoke, Corr's dataslate chimed with a notification of a message received
Here you go, Captain. Wouldn't call this one impossible, but it's challenging. If they can't figure this one out, they have no business on our team…respectfully, Sir.
-Vard
Attached to the message was a series of various documents, a compiler, and an encoder. Necessary tools to deconstruct data, decode, and rebuild it to access encrypted and secured files. All that remained was the application of knowledge to arrange and navigate it accordingly.
Corr looked over what Vard sent to him, prepared the dataslate for the demonstration and then slid it across the table to Lorlo. "Prove to me that you can do this. It's not impossible, but it will test you. There's various documents here you need to access, the tools you need are also here. Crack the security and prove you're capable."
The accused Corporal took hold of the offered dataslate, giving the open documents and accompanying programs a thorough investigation. A studious take of the tools at his disposal. He recognized the language, even if it was scrambled alphanumeric nonsense. Vortian. An obvious choice given recent events.
"...I only need to decrypt this into a readable format?" He sought clarification.
"Correct," Corr responded. "Not a simple test but call this a baseline for what's expected of you as a technical specialist."
"Understood, Captain," He confirmed, digits tapping and typing away as he began manipulating the provided test materials.
Right away, one thing was apparent. He was slow. Very slow. Competent, but the speed at which he typed or moved items on the device left much to be desired. To the untrained eye, he might have appeared to be struggling with understanding the piece of technology placed in his hands.
Slowly, but surely, he took the encrypted documents from their original state and broke them down into base blocks of data to be decoded and compiled once more. Being watched by three Spec Ops officers actively evaluating his performance put a lot of pressure on his shoulders.
Doing his best to not succumb to anxiety as this may very well decide his fate, Lorlo's work finally concluded. The last data block was stripped of its encryption and compiled back into the document in their native tongue. A task that took Vard mere minutes on average took Lorlo the better part of a half hour…but it was successful.
Double-checking his work, he hesitantly slid the dataslate back across the table to Corr with a swallow.
"...there you are, Sir. Fully decrypted, translated, and assembled…and it is a recipe for a birthday cake?"
Corr chuckled, "Yes, you wouldn't be given some classified documents to break into as a test, after all." He smiled as he took the dataslate back and looked the Corporal right in the eyes with a serious look returning to his face. "You're clearly competent, that much I can tell, you passed the test. Are you willing to improve yourself? If you can do what you just did and increase your speed in this, you're worth saving. Seconds matter in the field, minutes may mean certain death and a failed mission."
Haxx chomped on some chips, looking at the Corporal. Tech wizardry wasn't his thing, only that he knew they needed someone fast who can do it. "Mhm, can't take this long to crack a d-"
"Haxx," Corr shot him a look.
"Just saying," Haxx shrugged and returned to his chips.
"Nnnn…respectfully, Sir, he's got a point." Aero hesitantly agreed with Haxx. "Doors, terminals, files, drives…that stuff's kinda important with what we do. He can take all the time in the universe back at base, but in the field? That's guaranteed detection an' oopsie-poopsie, we're all dead."
"Aero, I know," Corr glanced at her with a pause, "...I think Vard can work with the Corporal and help him improve if he's willing to work on himself. Which is what I want to know."
Lorlo was taken back by the exchange. Clearly the two Lieutenants were less than impressed with his performance. Rightfully so, they aired their grievances. Completely justified…but their commanding officer still saw it fit to…offer him a second chance? Opportunity to perform what he was programmed to do?
"...does it get me out of this awful place for good?"
"It would. However, being willing to work on yourself comes with certain caveats. Namely that if you accept this, it will be your last unit transfer. You join this outfit, the only way you leave is death. Unless, of course, you want to take a gamble with the Control Brains on Judgmentia because your superiors decided to make you a demolitions specialist rather than foster your primary skill set. People can improve, they're capable of it. I see the potential in you to grow and be as good as our current specialist, so long as you don't settle for mediocrity."
The Corporal gave a small shrug.
"Either I accept this offer and take my chances or definitely lose with the Control Brains…seems like a pretty easy choice to me." He concluded. "I know I got a lot of room for improvement, Captain. If you're that convinced I'm capable, all I can do is try and give my all to meet expectations."
"What I like to hear," Corr reached into his bag and pulled out a final dataslate and slid it over to Lorlo. "There's four others we've recruited today. That's a list of things you'll need to do and where you'll need to be once those are done. You'll be picked up and brought to our ship. From there, well, the real fun begins."
"Yeah, real fun," Haxx said as he finished his chips and threw the empty bag into the nearby trash can. "Vard's gonna make sure you get good."
"He's magic…" Aero whispered at Lorlo with a snicker. "You two will get 'long like a two smeets in a pod…oh, and if you use anything in my hangar, put it back or I will break your fingers. Got it?"
"...understood, Lieutenant." Lorlo blinked.
"Great! Can't wait to introduce you to the rest of the team!"