Chief Turo Koreenk and General Vaukt had become rapidly acquainted over the weeks in negotiating Orenk's "surrender" to the Empire. The Convocation of Chiefs selected the man to lead them, as he had the best record of holding the Empire's forces at bay. Only to surrender? But once Vaukt's true plan was unveiled, a long game, many of these Chiefs, former pirates and mercenaries themselves, understood the need for a long game for a large payout. A small disgrace now, a larger boon later, all according to a plan coming together under his purview.
He and Vult may have been fighting towards the same end of terminating the Empire. Vaukt's endgame was looking different for the aftermath. Of course, his own men on Irk were giving him some extremely disturbing news of the Warmaster, supportive of himself and Zha, now under intense IIA scrutiny and increasing prodding into the world of Special Operations, only for them to back off when threatened with their own arrest for violating Imperial Standard as it pertains to their branch.
There was still the matter of Zha being a thorn in his side. He liked her, but the increasing incessant questions from IIA agents, not about her but about him, must have been starting to grate on her. He sincerely hoped that he could bring her on side, the last thing he wanted to do was do her in himself, but if his cause necessitated it, it would be the most bitter of pills to swallow.
"Never get attached to anything you're not willing to walk away from in ten seconds if you feel the enemy coming your way."
Words from his own instructors in the past that are as true as ever now. The enemy not being whoever the Empire sent him against in the interim, but the Empire itself. A two front war, he wasn't fond of it. Especially not having his own troops play part time police threatening to arrest IIA for poking where they shouldn't.
"So my own guards are able to keep their arms?" The Chief asked the General as they reentered the Chief's stronghold, now occupied by Imperial Troopers.
"Correct, as part of the terms of surrender, I've had it agreed to that your personal guards will be able to keep their weapons, so long as you follow what my man Hunat says. Not to worry, he'll make sure things tend not to run too differently around here. The rest of your clan's arms will have to be stored in the arsenal, but they'll technically remain yours."
"Yes…and how long is this supposed to last?"
"As long as necessary. Not to worry, it'll be fine."
"It better be. I'll be in my chambers."
Vaukt nodded, letting the Chief take his leave as he entered the throne room, taking his seat to relax on Koreenk's throne…only to be interrupted not even half a minute later by the throwing open of the door.
"Oh for fuck's sake can a man not have five minutes to himself?!" Vaukt yelled as he looked over to see who entered, seeing the familiar figure of the High Marshal. "...Zha, what is this?"
A visage of sternly-set features bore down on Vaukt from afar. However fond she had grown of him and his company in the prior months, she was far from dull. A double-edged sword, as Vaukt would put it.
"I need to speak with you. In private. Now."
The armored man pushed himself off the throne and down the stairs to her level, heading to a nearby room devoid of any presence, Orenkian or Irken, and shut it, latching it behind them. His arms crossed as he looked at his newfound companion. "I literally just got back with the chief. Is it really that bad that I can't unwind first?"
It took every ounce of restraint she had in her person to not draw her holstered sidearm and level it off at Vaukt once they were behind closed doors. Her set jaw and glare did not relent as she kept her distance from him. Something was afoul. Arms folded across her bust and favoring her weight to one leg, she kept vigilance on him.
"...I'm going to ask you questions and you will give me honest answers." She opened, making her intentions crystal clear. This was quite serious. "I have grown tired of having Internal Affairs up my c'hurta regarding you. Something I was willing to put up with…until certain rumors reached my antenna as of lately. Perhaps it is a diversionary ploy…perhaps it is a grave concern of mine to be held…but it is oddly coincidental such follows you wherever you go."
She paused, breathing deeply to collect her thoughts and permit the General time to digest everything so far in preparation.
"Up until now, I have passed it off as nothing more than attempts to slander or sully you by the likes of Grimm and similar company for routinely embarrassing them…the Onrekians now cheerfully rolling over for you and your assigned man…and already whispers of rebellion against the Empire from their clans. Once is a curiosity, twice is a coincidence, Vaukt. What is Internal Affairs after? Why are they pursuing their investigation to the point of hypocrisy and breaking the rules to get to you? What are you hiding from them? From me?"
Really can't ever expect a bunch of pirates and mercenaries to maintain OPSEC…
"Do you want the absolute, honest, brutal truth or do you just want me to feed you a crock of nonsense? One will keep you alive, the other not so much."
His returned question instead of defensive vitriol at her accusations sent a chill down her spine. Her lime green eyes widened in shock, arms falling to her sides slowly in disbelief. Surely not…
"You are planning something…aren't you?"
"Remember that conversation I had with you? On promotion by merit? The one you said you didn't want to hear anything further of? That was entirely for your own well being. Yes, I absolutely am planning something. What the outcome will be, I don't know, but I have my own ideas of what comes out the other side."
Oh, how she wished to be wrong for once in her deductions…Not spoken directly or aloud, but one could preemptively assert the General's direction and intentions. A pursed expression of twisted, troubled features and grit teeth tore her eyes from him toward the corner of the room.
"...and I was part of your grand scheme, too?" She finally asked, clearly hurt and struggling to mask it.
"If you were open to the idea. So far I haven't had much in the way of time to be able to prod you about the possibility of bringing you into this conspiracy…actually, leaving you in the dark so far has proven to be rather fruitful. What you don't know can't hurt you…but then it also leaves me with the possibility of making a decision I would lament making when the funeral bells toll for this putrid and corrupt Empire."
There it was. Finally revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt. Sedition. Dereliction. Grimm's backhanded accusations back on Irk in Burgg's office echoed in her thoughts with crystal clarity.
Traitor.
Her mind raced, being equal parts complicit and denial in the matter. She understood the why and to a degree, sympathized, but was this the right way? The best way? All it would bring them is unimaginable pain and suffering for turning their back on long-standing loyalty and service to the mightiest of them all.
That did not even scratch the surface of her own personal feelings towards the man. The past several months, both on and off-duty, had been quite enjoyable around him. She dare say taken quite the liking to him…but this made her wonder if it was authentic. Had Vaukt, the resident master of the art of deception, illusion, and misdirection, been sincere or was she part of the plan?
A humorless huff of disbelief and shake of her head came finally from the depths of her thoughts, gesturing to the General before her.
"W-what do you want me to say to that? What you're telling me, what I've heard…Vaukt, I can't ignore this."
"I don't expect you to. You're better than that." The armored man sighed, shaking his head. "I suppose what it comes down to is if you're going to be a good little Imperial minion and follow protocol or if you're inclined to hear me out…if it's the first one…my life is going to be a lot less interesting and I'd eventually die with one major regret."
"You are conspiring against the Empire." She countered with emphasis, still reeling from the shock of the news. "Not a formal complaint, not a shurking of duties…actual sedition. A Chief of Staff, at that…no wonder Internal Affairs has been trying to get to you through me."
An exasperated hand removed her cap, the other dragging down the features of her face before falling to her side with a huff.
"...so I'm just supposed to let you…rebel against the Empire?"
"Yes, and if anything I'm hoping you'll come with me." He chuckled, "I'm putting an end to this senseless conquest the Empire has embarked on. I intend to see an end to this idiocy of a single use for planets. I'm going to see this foolishness of a government torn down and thrown into the ash heap of history for what we were robbed of. The Tallest will be gone, we will dismantle the Control Brains, this regime will end, and we will be free."
The General paused his tirade to shake his head. "Granted, I don't know what the others of the conspiracy have in mind. But my vision is a military government, our veterans, those who put their lives on the line for our new lives, will have the say in governance."
The longer she listened to him speak on the matter, the more incredulous her expression became. What began as confusion and dread turned to one of disbelief mixed with contempt.
"...you have lost your damn mind is what you've done. I'd sooner hear that sort of talk out of Grimm before you."
A scoff followed, shaking her head before running her palms back over her antenna. What to do, what to do…
"Did you expect me to…join you, swept off my feet by the dashing, daring, charismatic rogue? Abscond to the stars to overthrow the Empire together? You've left me with a damn ultimatum is what you've done. Listen, I don't always agree with how things are ran or who is in command of what, but I'm not so disgruntled to kill my own people over it."
"You would be if you know what they've taken from you without realizing it. I know you like me, I like you too, funny as that sounds that I actually like someone."
Zha gave a single, sarcastic laugh.
"Yes, that honor's bestowed upon me, implicated in your plot to overthrow our government."
"Unless you're content serving a regime of idiots who don't appreciate you. I'm sick of it. I've seen enough of our people die and needless conquest and I want it to end. If it means I need to cut a bloody swath to do it, then damn it, by whatever celestial being is watching over this crazy universe, I'm going to do it." The General huffed and shook his head.
"We've been robbed, Zha, more than you know. This isn't just some rotting corpse of a government, it's built on a mountain of lies. Lies, bones, and a Republic run by sycophantic elites that wanted to control everyone rather than have opposition to how they rule, homeworld or colony. Centuries of lies, buried, hidden, but I'm going to see it all ended and exposed."
A long, silent pause followed as Zha paced, weighing her options. Mulling over Vaukt's words in an attempt to be unbiased for the sake of fairness, squashing her own panicked paranoia, and seeking an…adequate resolution.
Perhaps there was a sliver of truth to his audacious claims. Perhaps there was more than met the eye around them. Vaukt never struck her as the type to frivolously expel lies…but his expertise was subterfuge and infiltration by trade. Had she become an inopportune target herself in the process?
First, the truth needed to be revealed before proceeding as she came to a stop, bright green eyes falling on him once more. The answer would set the tone of how to proceed.
"...did you use me to further your goals by taking advantage of my feelings or were they authentic?"
"If I weren't authentic would I have bothered helping you back on Vort or left you to suffer with the incompetents?"
"Yes, because it is your job to assist me and it would have been your c'hurta too if you hadn't." She sniped back sternly, far too wise to his meandering ways of evading interrogation. "Answer me…did you use me, yes or no?"
"No…if I were going to use you, I'd have killed you and disposed of your corpse by now, make it look like an Orenkian ambush."
A weary sigh followed from the High Marshal, shaking her head.
"Ever the charmer…" she muttered, gathering her thoughts. "...assuming this isn't a fever dream of yours and something is in play, do not tell me any details about it. Unlike you, I can't avoid Internal Affairs. They will pick up on omission of truths and outright lies. High Marshal Xilch is not exactly fond of me as it stands after our miniature tribunal in Burgg's office. Any excuse to nail me to the wall would be too savory for her ilk to pass up."
"They'd have one angry power armor wearing son of a bitch and his best men to contend with."
"Somehow I think they would be willing to call your bluff," Zha facetiously mused aloud at his bravado. Eyes closing, they reopened after several moments slowly. "...I will continue wasting their time in their investigation, but they are becoming restless and impatient without any leads. A broken clock is right twice a day, Vaukt…they will eventually grow wise to your scheming…"
A digit snapped to Vaukt in close proximity, pointing.
"Do not make me regret this." The High Marshal concluded with emphasis.
He walked closer to her, armored arms wrapping around her as gently as he could, embracing her without too much discomfort.
"You can thank me when you're free of the system that binds us."
Her arms remained folded in his enveloped hug, feigning a great lack of amusement at the gesture given their current topics of discussion. Not even she would be swayed by the rare affections from the mysterious man of Special Operations.
"Mmhmm, whatever gets you out of that tin shell sooner rather than later. I prefer not having metal corners digging into me."
"I don't know why you don't like it. I love this thing. Cozy in here. Best piece of field equipment ever acquired. I'd almost have this ready for serial production."
"Shall I leave you two alone or do you expect me to get jealous?" Zha commented in jest.
Anything to free her mind of the looming dread of what Vaukt revealed to her in confidence. A secret she was expected to keep…one she willingly would by choice for him. A single verbal exchange drastically changed the dynamic of their relationship. One, in reality, still in its infancy by mere months. Now, he entrusted her integrity with his own life at the potential price of her own should she betray him. How deep did this go? Who else was complicit in his political manifestations? Who was ally and who was adversary? So many questions, so few answers.
"Well it's not like the armor can do certain things that you could do when the time comes and we're free from these binds over both of us."
Her only response was a silently raised single brow of question.
"That so? Is this another one of your radical presumptions?"
"It isn't. I've done a bit of talking with some of the others deep in this with me who have already been unhooked from the Control Brains and had their hormonal inhibitors shut down. I ask them for advice on what to do with you and I learned some things…it's why I tried giving you those flowers before."
Zha's eyes closed with a subdued grin and shake of her head.
"...not…what I was referring to, but okay." She settled for, sighing. "You are quite eager to leap off in the deepest abyss of uncharted territory without a second thought…in more ways than one. I'm undecided if it is bold or stupid. Which do you believe it to be?"
"It's what I've done my entire life. I always jump into the dark with limited or no intelligence. Boldness and a bit of insanity is a must for Special Operations. Heh…call it what you will. It's just who I am. Mine is just the trying, whatever happens is in the field up to whatever is out there watching over all of this."
"He who dares wins, hm?" She quipped, finally relinquishing in unfolding her arms to return his embrace and find his mouth in a kiss. "...seriously though, this blows up fantastically in your face and I'm caught in the fallout, I will beat you senseless if you aren't already dead."
"I'm not going to give you the satisfaction of it." He laughed. "We'll succeed, or we'll both share a grave, either in a ripe old age or in this together."