The frigate Pilkaris departed Onikaiah. Amka himself dressed in an Armada Shipmaster's uniform laughed from the bridge after the Shadow Strikers and his own cohort that came with him started removing their procured standard issue equipment. He made his way to the galley with the autopilot taking them to Haven, retrieving bottles of alcohol from Vort, courtesy of General Vaukt before Mirage's departure for Vylat.
"I was impressed in Tallum and I'm still impressed with you guys." The Major mused as he saw Vult and Corr. "Rem sent a message that your ship is currently docked on Haven and that the General is set to head there from Krata shortly. We should celebrate with the others."
A strange sight to say the least, every Special Operations Irken wearing standard-issue Irken Elite uniforms, equipment, and weapons. All part of their cover in intentionally causing as many indirect problems for the Empire as possible as a parting gift to mask their departure. The point of no return had been reached and the leap of faith taken. How deep the abyss descended was yet to be determined.
Aero, the "acting" unit's commanding officer being the tallest, moved about, inspecting herself still as everyone socialized, reflected, and conversed.
"Y'know…I think our uniforms are cool…but this is pretty snazzy."
"See? I'm not the only one." Radec pointed out.
"Well, you're biased. You started out as one of these guys. I was an Imperial Pooper. I have moved up in the universe. Bask in my greatness." The pink-eyed Lieutenant stuck her tongue out at him.
Vara laughed. "You think she's something now, try walking in on her when she's trying on that General's uniform she got from Irk. I'm biased towards our stuff but Aero looks cute as a General, maybe a little intimidating."
"We've already decided I should be Tallest Aero. If I was in charge, everything would be a-okay and we would all get along. Haxx even said so. He said I was perfect."
"Never gonna live that down…" He muttered.
Deris was quick to take off his Elite jacket and neck guard and put them aside. "I don't much like it, feels weird on me."
"It's because you were an Imperial Pooper like me." Aero reasoned. "We didn't get all the cool guy stuff…but now you're cooler than cool guys with us!"
As the group conversed, the door to the mess hall whisked open, Vult, Corr, and Amka making their appearance. The collective of blended units went to attention before being casually dismissed. The Commander never missed a step between returning their salute and hopping up on the nearest table so all of them could see and hear him.
"Alright, first and foremost….good work. We wrecked that place and left it in shambles. Comm traffic is already pointing fingers at the Empire and they're struggling to convince them otherwise for obvious reasons. They're several weeks, if not months, out from being operational again after the damage we did. One less opportunity for the Armada to refuel and refit. One less port to call safe. One more thorn in their side."
"Secondly, room for improvement for this type of operation. One, they were suspicious, noticing how grizzled all of us were. Not our fault but we are clearly battle-hardened and the uniforms didn't match the scars and disposition. Have to work on that. Nothing outside of our expertise. Obviously, it worked, but no reason to leave anything to chance. Keep the uniforms in your lockers, we'll work on authenticity later. Plenty of experts, myself included, aboard."
"Lastly…some of you are already familiar, but we are on-approach for a little place we've come to know as Haven. The first, unofficial, independent Irken colony. Be on your best behavior as we are guests and that is their home. Not ours. They are as much dedicated to the cause as we are and are all on the same side, but are building everything from the ground up. Not a single soldier among them coming from the crews of freighters initially. They look up to people like us for guidance. Be professional and courteous…you may make a few fans along the way."
Amka, the only one of the bunch in an Armada outfit, slipped back into the galley to retrieve some glasses and bring them out. "Now, courtesy of Mirage, in the second chance some of us had to work with some of you guys…" He popped the cork on a bottle of Vortian wine and poured out the bubbling contents within for everyone within the room. "A drink to a job well done and to you Shadow Strikers leading the way." He handed out filled glasses.
Rha smirked, "A drink to us? I'll drink to that any day of the week. Right Haxx?" He gave his superior a smack on the back.
"It ain't easy being this damn good." The broad-shouldered beast of a Lieutenant stretched arrogantly in good-humor.
"Full-time job," Radec joined in.
"Purple Team rules!" Haxx bellowed, his fellow squadmates grunting in agreement.
Posa closed her eyes, shaking her head at the three meatheads and their antics.
Zurrak, meanwhile, started reaching for his pistol only to decide to leave the mess hall instead than be near the three stooges.
Vult arched a bemused brow, turning to look at Corr.
"That's your team. You did this to them."
Corr only exhaled as Calla planted a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
"And they are all acting like dirt children who like to bash rocks together. The idiot chip in my brain feels like it's going to burn right through my head every time I'm around them. Zurrak is probably the only sane one. Calla, can I go into the box for a while?"
"That…isn't funny, Corr."
"It's a little funny." Vult admitted, having her lash out and smack his leg, chuckling at her reaction. "...also…more serious note…before anyone blows a circuit over it…Tallest Red and Purple are still alive and will be in our…possession until further notice."
Chavsa spat on the deck. "I have half a mind to kick them both in the shin for their stupid rules!"
"Get in line, Private. Bet that as it may, Vaukt snagged them while liberating High Marshal Zha and her command staff from T'daali Correctional Facility on Vort…along with a number of other prisoners who are in our plight and want to extract their pound of flesh from the Empire for their unfair treatment."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…High Marshal Zha? As in High Marshal Zha of the Imperial Poo- Damn it, Aero, Troopers?" Radec queried, more seriously. "Awful lot of brass to bring our way, ain't it?"
"It is…and I do intend to have a very serious discussion with General Vaukt about the matter after their arrival."
"I'm confused as to why…is she a prisoner?"
"Wasn't she already a prisoner in the IIA prison?" Aero queried, perplexed. "Wouldn't that make her a double prisoner if she's also our prisoner or does IIA's claim go away if we steal her?"
"She isn't a prisoner, Aero."
"Well, what is she then, Sir?" Haxx pointedly queried. "Gotta agree with Radec, that's a lot of attention to draw our way."
"She's to Vaukt what Aero is to Vard, Lieutenant," Corr answered.
"Oh, you gotta be freakin' kiddin' me…"
"Vaukt was going to rescue her regardless of what I told him. I would expect any of you to do the same for each other." Vult defended. "Zha has been aware of Vaukt's intentions for some time and still refused to tell Internal Affairs of them when she just as easily could have and saved herself the trouble. I haven't received the full extent yet until Sula takes a look at her, but she endured weeks of intense interrogation and torture to extract a confession and only broke hours before she was rescued. I wouldn't recklessly endanger everything coming this far."
"Love makes people do crazy things, Haxx." Corr subtly reminded him of what transpired between them alone on Vort. "Things that would be otherwise crazy against all odds or impossible in the face of death."
"Yeah, you were a walking corpse buddy, remember?" Rha threw an arm around his shoulder. "I wasn't the one living with a chest full of shrapnel and internal bleeding out the ass and still had the energy to get up and drive a sword through an SIS agent."
Jur came over with the bottle to top off Haxx's glass. "Love's a crazy thing, why Vara and I ended up doing what we did because of revenge."
Vara went over to Aero and put an arm around the tall woman's waist, always feeling safer being within arm's reach of her strength when in the suit. "Not just love between lovers but the love between friends too. Powerful bonds, Haxx, immensely so."
"All right, all right, you guys made your point." Haxx took a big gulp of his drink as he returned the gesture to Rha. "Still got my best friend here too."
"Damn right you do."
Skrem made his way over to the men of purple team, "Hey, get a room you two. Come on, people of decency are tryin' to have a party here."
"Hey, you had your chance." Radec fired back in good nature. "Don't be jealous."
"Oh you're just jealous I didn't make you a steak." Skrem smirked back at him.
"Maybe you two lovebirds need a room too." Rha quipped back at Skrem.
"All I'm hearing is a bunch of people are wanting hugs." Aero commented, grinning.
"No, every man for himself!" Rha quickly leapt up, his squadmates doing much of the same to evade the wholesome wrath of Red Team's Lieutenant in a cacophony of chairs skidding across the floor and boots taking flight.
Skrem, in usual fashion, sprouted his PAK legs and skittered out of the room. "I don't need to run fast, I just need to outrun all of you!"
Vult sighed, tossing the dataslate in his hands over his shoulder before stepping down.
"Dismissed, I guess…" He wearily commented at the shenanigans unfolding.
A moment's reprieve to be happy and enjoy themselves. A rare occurrence he refused to encroach upon with what lay ahead of them. "You can deal with this mess, Captain…I'm going to get some rest before we arrive at Haven."
Corr saw Hesa waiting for him at the door, smirking as he gave Calla a kiss on the cheek. "Maybe you have the right idea. I'm sure Haxx has the situation entirely under control. We should probably get some rest ourselves." He paused as Rha screamed, getting caught by Aero and pulled into a hug as Vara burst out laughing. "Yes, why don't we spend more quality time with our women until we get there."