Rha was the first to step off one of the corvettes to land within the underground facility on Haven during a clearance in the storms. Brown-gray skies overhead disappeared as the overhead doors closed. A familiar face came forward, one that Rha immediately recognized as he saw the hero of many months prior.
"Gar!" Rha grinned as he walked over to greet the drone he gave a quick lesson in soldiery to in what seemed like eons ago.
Notified prior to their arrival, the familiar face of the former freighter crewman broke into a wide smile as he approached. A hearty shake of hands and fraternal embrace followed. Once several inches shorter than Rha, he was now eye-level. A product of being unshackled from the system and permitted to naturally mature.
"Corporal Rha! It's been too long. I thought everyone went and forgot about us." He greeted in jest, movement to the visitor's rear catching his attention. His eyes widened and the color drained from his face. "...is that who I think it is?" Gar whispered.
"It's Sergeant Major now." Rha looked over his shoulder at the other man stepping off the ship and looked back with a nod. "Yup, that's exactly who you're thinking it is. Major General Saro of the Republican Elite."
"...so he's not here to kill us all then?"
"No." Saro, overhearing them on approach as he balanced the weight of his gear and belongings between both arms in bags. "I am not here to do that."
"Then what are you here for then?" Gar pointedly queried. Saro's reputation spread far and wide across the stars. Anywhere he went, pain and misery followed.
"Not even five minutes and we're already back to the interrogations…" He muttered in a huff, moving past the pair.
"We're all on the same side now. Fighting to end the Empire and all. He's actually going to train the first members of the Republican Army. How's the colony been?"
Just as Gar was to intervene at Saro's procession, Rha's words snapped his attention back to him.
"Wh-...train? Who? Us?"
"Who else?" Saro answered, staying his feet to turn back to the pair. "You're the only other Irken here, aren't you?"
"Well, yeah-"
"Then that would be who I'm training. Need an army to fight a war. You're the first batch of Republican soldiers to-be. Congratulations." He concluded in deadpan before turning his attention to Rha. "Mind if we stow our gear before getting chummy with the locals? This crap's heavy."
"Yeah. Gar, can you show us where we're staying? We're both here for the long haul along with a bunch of Non-Coms who are taking the bunks on the corvette as it is."
"Right, the colony." Gar reiterated being reminded as he gestured for the pair of new arrivals to follow him on the concourse away from the exterior doors. "As you can see, we've been extremely busy. Not much else to do down here other than be productive. Survival is an excellent motivator, but it's been…invigorating to do something on this scale for ourselves so we could benefit from it. Not for the Empire. Not for the Tallest. Us."
The Haven resident had not embellished in the slightest. What was once raw, open, cragged caverns had been carved, cut, and polished to near mirror sheens. The lack of resources at their disposal brought about a great deal of ingenuity and creativity with the stone around them. Tiers upon tiers of doors, windows, lined either side of the natural formation. Each level connected by meticulously-engineered pathways carved from the walls, stairs, and natural formations bridging the underground canyon made into connections between either wall.
Artificial lighting was sparse, but efficient, used primarily to illuminate main thoroughfares with knowledge obtained of the local flora and fauna casting bioluminsect glow of various hues elsewhere in a dazzling display of illumination. An underground spring had been tapped near the apex of the ceiling, cascading in a waterfall at the farthest end into a carved and walled pool. Its waters flowed controlled over a spillway, meandering down the center of the canyon floor, passing through several water wheels to generate electrical power.
The crystal-clear stream pooled at the far end set aside for agriculture. Dark outlines of fish lazily meandered about their artificial pond, a numerous staple to the local cuisine. A myriad of mushrooms, lichen, and a curious collection of subterranean creatures domesticated somehow through their efforts supplemented whatever dwindling food stocks from the cannibalized freighters. Their plating, components, and hardware prioritized for the management of community infrastructure. Heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical needs where needed, as well as civic structures and the ever-growing demand of industry for their burgeoning population.
What started as a cold, damp, depressing cave of incarceration had become the makings of a utopia of independence. A safe haven in more than name alone.
Rha was impressed to say the least. The ingenuity of the Irken mind at work, even if these former freighter crew hadn't the slightest idea of what they were doing, they made it work, learned their crafts, and succeeded. Having Vard and the others come down and unhooking everyone officially before their arrival was only the next step to truer independence for them. Now they could actually leave. Leave to fight their former masters now as the time has come.
Gar led them to a block of rooms built into the wall across from a pub that served alcohol made from fermented lichen. The rooms were empty but were more than suitable for quarters, a reserve of rooms in case they ever needed more. Clearly thinking ahead.
"It ain't much but it beats sleeping in a chair on that small ass ship." Rha set his things down, he'd come back to organize them later. "So, three questions: where's the bathroom, what's to eat around here, and how many you got around in Haven?"
Saro did much of the same in the adjacent room carved from the rock itself. Geothermal heating beneath the metal decking and ventilation provided comfortable climate control despite being so far beneath the surface. Accommodations were luxurious compared to the soldier standard, complete with electrical supply and intra-communication capabilities. Wireless signals did not travel well underground, leaving most of the colony hardwired.
Gar, waiting until both men returned from dropping their bags off, clasped his hands before him.
"Well…the bathroom. Sure you noticed your rooms don't have toilets. There is a communal bank of toilets near the farm plots."
"Let me guess…fertilizer?" Saro queried, unamused.
"Beggars can't be choosers, I'm afraid. A great deal of thought and care went into our layout here to make the most of what we had available. They are quite sanitary and kept clean. I'm sure both of you have dealt with worse."
"Doesn't mean I liked it…so that leaves food."
"Right…food…" Gar smiled awkwardly. "Sure you saw the farm plots and the fish on the way in. Through gastrointestinal horror stories of trial and error that I'll spare the details to, we've managed to cultivate some of the local fungi naturally-occuring down here. Several different species of mushroom, lichen, and mosses. All completely safe to eat and quite delicious. The cooks have gotten creative with the ingredients."
"Noticed you didn't mention the giant bugs over there."
"Yeah, those are for food, too."
"...the bugs?"
"Yes. It was that or starve. It's an acquired taste. We have to supplement the fish with another protein between harvests."
Rha immediately looked at Saro, "Say, I can't help but remember I saw some nice frozen and salted meat rations back on the ship. Mind if I have some of that?"
"Don't be rude, Rha. You haven't even tried it yet. If it's fine for them, it's fine for us…and by "us", I mean you. That stock's for officers."
"I will not eat the bugs." Rha deadpanned, "Officers or not I will take a keg of salt beef by force if I must!"
"Well…not to be rude or make things awkward…but I am Haven's…administrator? I was going to say ruler but that sounds tyrannical. Anyway…rations and preserved stock is for emergencies only." Gar remained cordial, but assertive.
"...so we have to eat that stuff unless there's no other option but starve before we're allowed to eat what we brought with us?" Saro queried, incredulous.
"I'm afraid so. Everyone here abides by that. Appreciative as we are for your assistance, it is out of necessity. We save that for special occasions and the occasional treat, of course, but otherwise, emergency only."
Rha blinked before letting out an audible sigh. "No offense, Gar, but I already feel like breaking my foot off in Corr's ass for getting me to do this. I love my steak!"
"What if I told you one of those puffball mushrooms pan-seared tastes pretty darn close to one?"
"I'm listening." Saro concurred.
"Don't take my word for it. If you aren't ready to be so adventurous, plenty of fish dishes. The deeper we've dug into Haven and explored, the more treasure it's bestowed upon us."
"Exciting…how do you not go insane down here without any natural light?"
"The glowing mushrooms help, but we've also did our best to stretch components to providing ample lighting throughout our…town? City? Not sure what to call this, really. Some of the engineers managed to cook up special lights and lamps to simulate natural light. They're spread about. Beyond that, we honestly treat it like one big starship. Set ourselves to a schedule and stick to it."
"What we did when it was myself, Volx, Haxx, and Tuu down here the last time well over thataway." He gestured in the general direction from what he remembered of his bearings well enough. "Could probably find where we were staying again too if I was so inclined. Nice and secluded." Rha mused for a few moments thinking back to his last mission here. "At least this time I'm not pale and looking like I'm about to keel over from a nasty head wound."
Rha blinked and quickly retreated in his room to dig through one of his bags before returning with a decent sized bottle of Vortian spirits, holding the bottle of amber liquid out to Gar.
"I know it's not a whole lot for you and the others helping me out in that tight spot before, but I figured I'd bring a little something for you from the outside world. Token of my appreciation for the help from before."
"Oh, well how thoughtful." Gar smiled, accepting the gift graciously with inspection. "If you're a fan of this sort of thing, we've managed to brew up some fine spirits down here."
Saro's brow furrowed, perplexed.
"How? With what?"
"With what's available. So long as it can be fermented, it can be turned into a spirit." Gar explained casually.
"So the…fungus and…"
"Don't knock it until you try it. Vad from Maintenance on my old crew has rightfully earned his title of brewmaster down here. He spends most of his time in the brewery but you can find him around town. He'll talk your antenna off if you let him."
"Well now he'll have some Vortian cask aged stuff to enjoy in the meantime." Rha smiled, "I still have my own bottles but who knows how long that'll last me down here." Rha really came to love his booze after their third trip to Vort. The selection in the restaurant was a joy to have. "So, that leaves the third question, how many suitable people do we have down here to train up as soldiers?"
Gar's lack of immediate response didn't fill Saro with confidence.
"...define "suitable"."
"A pulse. Working limbs. Can follow orders." Saro spoke with a lack of amusement. "If they can hold a weapon and do what they're told, they're suitable. We've already been briefed on your origins. You are not soldiers. It's our job to turn you into soldiers. We have our work cut out for us."
"Indeed…and it was never professed to me how that was to take place." Gar pointed out, looking between the two men. "I assume you two have some sort of plan?"
"A general idea. What's the headcount here?"
"Just shy of 2,000 total. Four freighters and approximately 500 crewmen apiece, minus our security personnel. Rha knows about all of that already."
"So I've heard." The General grunted, looking to Rha. "What do you think? Round up small batch groups at a time? Avoid disrupting their day-to-day activities here? More one-on-one opportunity to beat this stuff into their heads. Who we teach here will end up teaching more later"
"Sound strategy. Let's start with the security types first. Good chunk of 'em I taught on the fly in a trial by fire. They'll have some semblance of basics to work with. The rest we're basically having to train from civilians instead of militia types."
Saro turned back to Gar.
"Give us twenty of your biggest, toughest people. Mentally and physically tough. This'll be the backbone of your defenses, make sure it's strong. We're going to teach them to teach the rest. Propagate exponentially and be ready when 2,000 becomes 20,000, and then 200,000. So on and so forth."
"We and our little troupe of Elites turned Drill Sergeants will make an army out of you guys yet. I know you're capable." Rha gave Gar's shoulder a smack of camaraderie, "You performed well for the first time under duress for one. I wasn't kidding when I said you reminded me of one of my NCOs before either. You got it in you."
"When the alternative is death, even Drones find the courage to rise to the occasion." Gar offered with a thin smirk.
"The exact mindset to have moving forward, right there." Saro pointed out. "That mentality is gonna move planets through willpower alone. About all we have going for us until further notice."