The remainder of the trip to Kyozist station was effectively done by the skin of their teeth. On their last coolant pumps and running low on the stuff. The reactor had suffered a partial meltdown but a flooding of the core prevented any further expansion. However, the damage was catastrophic; the ship would need an absolute overhaul, but it was still enough to get them to the station. Crippled, they limped the rest of the way to the Vortian research base.
En route, Corr contacted Byte, ever grateful to Calla for her digital brains. He provided the access code to open the case and yet fool the system into thinking it was never opened to begin with, an override, brilliant stroke of genius. The genome disc was kept in his possession until they docked. Vara requested one of the internal slipways, just barely large enough for their cruiser to dock.
Aero, looking like she rolled around in a pile of coal dust, was barely green with bright pink eyes starkly contrasting the grime and filth stuck to her skin and overalls. Tired from the non-stop patch jobs and monitoring of their now-junked powerplant she wasn't looking forward to telling Vult about, she danced in place. Her next task eclipsed preventing a complete meltdown and killing everyone aboard.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon…Captain! Let's go!" She called out as the ship concluded docking, the boarding chute swinging into place to seal to the airlock. He jogged into view from the elevator, case in hand. "Gimme, gimme, gimme, gimme!"
She had been given directions from their berth on the way in. Through the doors, to the left, down the hall, right at the second intersection, and a final left to the prepared lab. Being the tallest Irken aboard, she had the longest set of legs and stride. She was fast. Filthy and fast.
No sooner than Corr made the handoff to the waiting Lieutenant, she took off like a shot. The doors of the airlock parted, VDF taken by surprise as she pushed the shortest one's head down and hurdled over him without missing a beat.
"Outta the way! Official business! Time sensitive! Fate of the universe! MOVE IT!"
Kiara bought up the rear after her, helping the one who was knocked over onto his feet. Once he realized who was standing in front of him, he quickly snapped to attention.
"Thank you, General!"
"At ease. I take it the Admiral is expecting us?"
"Yes, General, you're set to meet in the conference room. He wants to see the Commander as well. One of us will lead the way."
"Thank you," Kiara looked back to the ship, seeing Dorum come out as well as Vara.
The Commander came to join Corr, catching the last glimpse of his filthy second navigating her way through bewildered Vortian technicians and soldiers alike. "Hopefully they briefed everyone about the giant sweaty gremlin sprinting through their halls without an escort." He made light of the dire situation.
"If I know my father, he made painfully sure anyone on duty knew about it." She motioned for Vara and Dorum to follow her. "Commander Vult, come along. Captain, I suppose you can either come along or make your way to the lab with Calla. Up to your Commander."
"I hope they'll be more inviting than the last time I was here. Prefer to not have any of my teeth knocked out if it can be avoided." The blue-eyed male commented in jest, following after the General. "Need to make sure Aero gets there in one piece anyway."
"I suppose I'll go off after her," Corr spoke up as he took off in a brisk jog with Calla in hand.
"So we arrived at the top-secret military research station of your horned friends?" She casually queried while the Captain moved through the halls.
"Indeed we have. Just a matter of following Aero's footsteps all the way to the lab." He lightly chuckled. The janitors were not going to have a fun time with this.
Not far ahead of those filthy footsteps left in pristine halls was the culprit. One final turn and the laboratory lay ahead. A state-of-the-art, cutting-edge facility staffed by the sharpest minds the Federation had to offer with Doctor Zharic at the helm. Yes, home stretch!
"It's here! Right here! I got it!" Aero called down the hall to them, entering into the opening expanse of a room filled with a myriad of devices, equipment, and consoles that she could only guess what they all did.
She hadn't caught the pair of steps down to the lab itself, stumbling in surprise as her next footfall hit nothing but air and continued down. Throwing her forward, off-balance, she prepared for the pain to follow. Having the wherewithal to immediately clutch the case to her midsection and curl around it, Aero tumbled, rolling forward until she came to an abrupt halt against the first console in her way with a jarring BANG of an impact against its paneling.
"Ahhh…" She seethed, grimacing. "Bit muh 'ongue…'ere. 'Omeone."
Her filthy hand held up the protected case from behind the console, wagging it.
None other than Turb came over and took the case from Aero, offering her a cup with a milkshake he was enjoying. "For your tongue, Aero. Good to see you again."
"'Anks." She accepted, righting herself with a rub of her head where she hit and rising to her feet again. "Cat' up la'er…nee' 'o 'ind 'ult."
Sweet, frozen treat in hand, she disappeared as quickly as she had arrived in search of her commanding officer.
Corr stepped in the door right as she got up, giving the filthy Lieutenant a once over. "Aero, go clean yourself up. I was able to follow your footprints all the way over here."
"On 't, 'ir." She responded. Sitrep first, then shower.
"Doctor Zharic," Corr nodded to him.
"Captain Corr, how have things been?"
"Things have been better. I have something I need to speak with you about once you're done copying the genome."
"Of course, we'll have this decoded and copied as quickly as we can." He opened the case and removed the disc, inserting it into one of the computers. Now came the fun part…
Having been thoroughly briefed in the days leading up to their arrival, Turb's team operated like a well-oiled machine. While the encrypted data was fed into what was arguably the most powerful computer aboard the station and abroad, they began synthesizing tissue samples from the accompanying vial of organic material. Cloning in itself wasn't difficult, but doing so consistently and avoiding defects was where the challenge came. The genome, once decrypted and sequenced, would provide them with all the information they needed to reverse-engineer it in the coming days.
Meanwhile, in the conference room, the group was met by Gantas, Warrant Officer Rhac'Vaeggar from their previous arrival, and the Admiral. A fourth Vortian in civilian attire sat at the table, watching the group as they entered the room, a hulking figure not too dissimilar to the ones that Vult and the others had encountered on Vort.. One of the two suited Vortians was visibly relieved.
"Kiara!" Gantas walked over, giving his sister a long awaited embrace. "By the gods are you a sight to behold."
"Gantas, long time no see. Glad you guys were able to get off Vort."
"No thanks to some people." He spoke with a bit of venom as he looked to the Irken who came in with his sister and a pair of his operatives. "So you must be Commander Vult. Nice to finally meet you face to face instead of by a proxy."
The Commander nodded, offering to shake his hand. The gesture promptly returned by Gantas.
"Likewise, Colonel. Seeing as I'm not being assaulted, this is an improvement over the last time I was here." He cheekily commented. "Your man Rub warmed up to me yet?"
"I wouldn't put it that far yet. His twin seems to be slightly more trusting of you."
"Wait, so, some people?" Kiara looked at Gantas with some confusion. "You almost didn't make it off Vort?"
"I told the Admiral, I was hoping some of you could corroborate it that SIS countermanded his evacuation order for our team and tried to pull us into a suicidal last stand."
"Did you mention the-" Dorum made an explosion gesture with his hands.
"No, no I haven't gotten to that juicy part yet. I wanted to do it in front of the Chief Asshole himself." He gestured over his shoulder to the Director of SIS, none other than Dor'Saurom himself.
"Perhaps you'd be so kind as to elaborate, Commander?" Lard'Narr looked to Vult with an arched brow.
Vult's attention drifted to the man in question. The apparent doppleganger to the likes of High Marshal Xilch, down to the branch and mannerisms. He appeared none too pleased to be in the presence of Irken, let alone them on the station.
"Depends. That their boss?" He nodded to Dor.
"I am, Irken." Director Saurom coldly responded. "What is it to you?"
"Ensuring my intel was right is all," He cryptically spoke, turning back to Lard'Narr. "I can forward my team's after-action reports to you to peruse at your leisure, Admiral…but I intervene and prevent his teams from turning Tallum into a radioactive glass bowl out of spite at the cost of the civilian lives remaining within the city."
"Asset denial to a peer adversary. Clearly they sought Tallum. My teams were going to deny them and cripple their starved army further thanks to gross incompetence of your commanders."
"By nuking your own people?" Vult pressed, equal parts amazed and incensed at the audacity of this man.
"Curious, an Irken with the capacity for compassion. A first time for everything."
"Nuke his own-" The Admiral turned incensed as he looked at the Director. "And nuke our best special forces team we have at the same time?! Not to mention all those civilians?! Have you lost your damned mind, Director?!"
Unphased by Admiral 'Narr's increasing ire, Dor's attention drifted back to him. It was no secret members of SIS were cut from a different cloth. A necessity for the ethically-questionable affairs they often involved themselves in for the sake of the Federation's continued stability. Where Xilch had been intimidating…the Director was downright unnerving.
"The irony of those words coming from a man working hand-in-hand with our enemy and would be shot under normal circumstances for it is not lost on me, Admiral." Dor countered. "My directives were clear; stop the Empire at all costs. Drastic times call for drastic measures and if it meant buying our colonies more time with the sacrifice of one city, so be it."
"And turning the planetary capital city in a crater would just make them shrug their shoulders and turn to Krata sooner rather than later, you stupid fuck!" Gantas spoke, irate.
Vult failed to resist a shake of his head and a huff of amusement. Dor did not miss it.
"Something amuse you, Irken?"
"It's Commander, Director. Commander Vult. Use my name and pay me the same due diligence." He opened despite being the minority in the room. Quite bold. "...and your extremist tactics remind me of our command staff. The same you called incompetent."
The SIS Director did not take kindly to that implication as he slowly stood from his seat with a murderous glare.
"Mind your tongue, Vult. Someone is likely to cut it from your mouth with words like that."
The normally reserved and concluded Commander went for the throat to make a point.
"Certainly won't be your people capable of that. Sloppy. Arrogant. I see it's the cult of personality from the top down now."
Gantas wore a very smug look of satisfaction on his face.
Admiral 'Narr preconceived Dor's reaction as he was a moment away from making a very grievous error before the remaining command staff of the Federation.
"Enough. Both of you." He commanded, particularly at the SIS Director. "Your disdain for our double agents is duly noted, Dor."
"The Ahko's combat reports might contain such a mission, Admiral." Gantas spoke as he cleared his throat. "As well as Major Ahko's own report on the unfortunate loss of the entire civilian government." Gantas paused as he noticed Kiara's shock at the news. "Under normal circumstances the line of succession would be different. However, given that recent act of parliament that allowed SIS to operate on Vort in the event of war with the Empire, it also triggered martial law should the civilian government find itself compromised or incommunicado." Gantas paused as he turned to the Admiral.
"As the highest ranking member of the Federal Armed Forces, I believe I don't need to inform you that you're currently the de facto leader of the Federation until this is over, Admiral."
"Indeed. There's going to be some changes…first, Zharic, Commander Vult, I do want those reports to read for myself what exactly happened on Vort between you and SIS. Second, Director, I'm revoking SIS' liberty for independent operation. I want duty stations, rosters, reports, active teams and operations, all on my desk forthwith. You're not to make any further moves without my approval. Third, General Zharic, given our lack of command staff, I'm approving your promotion to full General and naming you attache to our double agents."
Kiara blinked and promptly snapped to attention, "Thank you, sir. I won't let you down."
"I'll have them in your hands before we depart for Destructia, Admiral." Vult assured, already typing out a message to Vard to forward the relevant data to his dataslate.
"You will be provided what your security clearance allows, Admiral." Dor staunchly observed. "Information and reference in materials will be redacted per protocol."
"I would hide behind that too after having everything spectacularly blow up in your face the way it did, Director." Vult made it clear. He would not be intimidated by any of them, especially the likes of those nearly responsible for killing them all.
"I head the Federation now in a state of martial law, Director, you answer to me, not the other way around." Lard turned to stare Dor down. "Or would you like me to have Zharic introduce you to an airlock?"
"He is welcome to join me," Dor did not relent. "...and be that as it may, Admiral, not even the Prime Minister held necessary clearance for most of our materials. I did not make the rules, I only follow them to the letter. You will get what you are cleared to view."
"The civilian government has been blown up, I wonder why." He stopped short of making an insinuation at a power play on Saurom's part. "Again, martial law, I make the rules now. Play by them or I'll find someone in Naval Intelligence who'd be happy to absorb all SIS assets for the duration."
"Quick to assume the still warm throne, are we, Admiral?" The Director countered, implying his own political maneuvers in play. "You will get the information you have requested in due time."
"See to it that I receive them forthwith. I know a number of special forces types who'd love to take a run at you. Now get out of my sight."
"With pleasure," Dor stared hard at their impromptu leader before taking his leave but not before an unkind push past Vult in the process.
The Commander watched him go, smoothing his uniform back out before speaking after his departure.
"For the branch head of black ops, he's an awfully sensitive sort, isn't he?"
Rhac, silent until now, couldn't resist letting out a chuckle. "I swear, it's the augmentation process for his little pet project. They get so big they must suffer an inferiority complex from the lower works. If you catch my drift."
Gantas let out a laugh. "Overlord is big, he's big. Those types don't faze me that bad."
"Size isn't everything." Vult added, a reflection of Vard's own bravery the last time they were there. "We're…accustomed to SIS at this point. They won't surprise us again. Optimistically, Admiral, we won't have to worry about them in the future."
"Yes, never doubt the Director, though. Large as he is, that conniving prick is an absolute pain in the ass. He may very well not inform his units about you, just for the fun of it."
"Sounds like something every commanding officer above me with the exception of General Vaukt would do." The Commander deadpanned. "...speaking of, unsure if Byte has made it aware to you or not, but the Head of Special Operations is in-the-know. He's on board."
Gantas seemed quite pleased with the sound of that news. "So we have our first inroad into the Empire's High Command?"
"Appears that way. He's a crafty, pragmatic sort. He knows when to try his luck and when to play along. For his sake, information will be passed through us though to not trace back to him." Vult clarified, remembering current events. "...also, worth noting, High Marshal Xilch of Imperial Internal Affairs personally hand-delivered the genome to us. She was quite displeased and suspicious. I am sure Vaukt is doing what he can to assuage her but it is her job to sniff out rotten traitors such as myself." He smirked.
"Well, if you're still here, clearly she isn't doing that good." Gantas smirked.
"We do appreciate any intelligence you and your cohorts can forward to us, Commander." The Admiral stated.
Vult nodded respectfully.
"No promises, but is there specific intel that will benefit the Federation or resistance abroad?"
"Keeping us apprised on anything related to Vort itself, as well as the Empire's general movements. We're bolstering Krata but there's still work to be done."
"As of my last…conversation with General Vaukt and High Marshal Zha, they are proceeding forward with occupational maneuvers. Imperial garrisons to begin "restoring order" and bringing the remaining local population to heel. Those left are no stranger to war and will give them a bad time. Asymmetrical warfare outside of Spec Ops tends to be disastrous. They continue knocking off officers, the rest fold in a panic. Matter of attrition and holding out until something can be done about the Empire planetside."
"If they can keep up the resistance long term, we may have the means to secure landing sites in the future." Gantas grinned.
"I would recommend that they don't push their luck and only occasionally harass the Empire. Enough to keep them paranoid, but no more. Going further brings the hammer down on them."
The Admiral nodded, "I'll have someone from Naval Intelligence attempt to make contact with the resistance there and send them this information."
Vult's expression became somewhat sullen and forlorn before lifting his head to speak again.
"...despite their limited ammunition, mass drivers are highly effective against Irken. I…lost one of my own to one at Tallum as a result of a direct hit to the PAK. A center-mass round will penetrate through the body and through it. Even if they manage to survive the trauma, they will expire shortly thereafter without a functioning PAK."
"This is all good information."
"Commander," Vara spoke up from her own silence, "the ship?"
His brow furrowed at Vara's statement.
"The ship? What about it?"
About that time, Lieutenant Aero, milkshake in hand, sheepishly slunk into the room. An abnormally tall female, filthy from antenna to toe, enjoying a frozen treat.
"Mmm! 'Ir!" She frantically gestured at him.
"...I'm in the middle of something, Aero."
"I 'now, 'orry." An apologetic smile to Lard'Narr followed.
"Why are you talking like that?"
"I 'it my 'ounge. 'Ad." She opened her mouth to show him a distinct bite radius into the flesh of her tongue as it seeped blood. "'Ell 'own."
"Aero?" Vult patiently requested with a trying sigh.
"'Ir?"
"...if it's important, please tell me and take your leave. The Admiral's time isn't something I want to waste."
"Ight! Uhhh…'hip 'roke."
"What?"
"'Hip 'roke! The 'hip!" She flailed, gesturing with her unoccupied hand.
Vult looked to Vara. "What's she talking about?"
"The ship is toast. On our way here we ran the reactor far beyond its capacity and…if not for the work of our three fine friends' quick thinking, we'd be floating space debris. Partial meltdown. That thing needs to be put in for an overhaul now. I need to run it like that again, we won't even make it out of the system."
"'Eah, 'hat." Aero nodded in agreement.
"Commander, didn't you say-" Gantas started before he was interrupted.
"That's right, boss. If they can't get to Destructia with that genome in time? They may as well not even bother showing up. Might even compromise any gains we made in the Empire so far with infiltration."
That was a serious problem. Their means of transport was compromised by their own doing making best time for Kyozist. Vult remained composed as he mentally dissected their options. Pushing his sleeve up, he checked the time, comparing to their delivery window for Destructia in the coming days.
"...we have about a day to fix…a compromised primary propulsion powerplant…in a cruiser-class vessel. A refit that normally takes over a week…"
Perhaps it was time to consider alternatives. IIA did not state they all needed to be present, only that the handoff be made to the commanding officer of the garrison…a great gamble and assumption. Too great, even.
"Admiral, what's our capabilities here?" Vara asked.
"We have some of the best shipyard crews left of Vort running various retrofits onto the fleet ever since Praxxus fell."
"Perhaps an upgrade? If we can spare one of our own FTL drives and cruiser power systems, even a battleship level reactor, but that may be an extremely tight fit…"
"It would give our friends quite a boost and likely a more stable system…"
"I vouch for them, Admiral," Kiara spoke up, "Whatever we can best spare would be of great assistance to their continued actions, be it under the Empire or in our resistance effort."
There was some silence from the Admiral as he rubbed his chin in thought. "If we throw every available worker at the thing, and their engineering crew can help them adapt our systems to theirs…it may be a record but I believe we can get it done."
Vult's attention snapped back to Aero as she slurped away at her milkshake.
"Back to the ship, all-hands, start tearing everything out and get it ready. Double-time."
"'Es, 'ir!" She saluted, bouncing out of the room as ordered.
"I better get back as well," Vara started before Kiara held up her hand to stop her.
"Have you even managed to sleep since you've taken the helm?"
"...No, General."
"Then let Jur handle it, you get some rest. They need you for the next leg of the trip."
"Understood."
"General, you and the others are dismissed. I'm also sure your father would love to see you again." Lard started, seeing a smile come across Kiara's face as she saluted and started leaving. "Except you, Commander Vult, one quick note." As the others began leaving he cleared his throat. "Director Saurom was most incensed about your request for giving your man Kazak one of our suits and flatly denied it. However, if what you say is true, you'll have earned my respect and I'd be happy to provide one for him. Though, there is a catch, he'll have to remain here so we can fit the suit to him properly. I know it may put you at a quandary losing a man for a time, but it's entirely necessary."
Vult masked his surprise well. Mostly. To hear their lukewarm alliance produce fruit so quickly was welcome. State-of-the-art, cutting-edge technology that gave the Federation an edge…was being provided to one of his own. If that was not an extended sign of trust, he didn't know what was. Better yet, the news that followed shocked him more. Suspiciously so as his expression shifted to one of uncertain curiosity.
"You're letting Kazak stay here, on this station, with you…and I don't have to pay you?"
"Yes," the Admiral answered before a pause. "Wait, why would you have to pay us to keep him?"
"Oh, no reason, Admiral. Unsure if your people have…interacted with him much yet but he isn't exactly what I would call sociable. In summary, a giant pain in my c'hurta and one less headache for me to worry about while he's here…but he is a good soldier."
A sigh escaped the Vortian, "I do hope he won't cause any problems."
"If he does, I will beat him to death myself." Vult nodded with assurance. "Unless you have a reason to shoot him first, of course. I doubt you will have anything to worry about."
The next several hours saw a flurry of activity on all sides. The genome of their peer adversary at their disposal, Doctor 'Zharic and his team worked tirelessly around-the-clock. Progress was made, slowly but surely. The Irken's mastery of genetic manipulation, biomechanical engineering, and flash-cloning literal armies eclipsed the Federation's knowledge. One of the few fields they exceeded the Vortian people at.
As the decryption of genetic sequencing and synthesizing of tissues went on, other conversations were had pertaining to the crew aboard the Ghost of Irk. Rem's lack of eyes, Posa's missing eye, and the missing limbs between the Navigator and Demolitions Specialist. Having access to the Irken Genome and respective DNAs of those individuals, replacement parts and organs could be cloned in due time. Never one to settle for the bare-minimum, Turb ensured their sight would vastly exceed an Irken's normal capability. Rem would return to form at the controls of any craft.
The resident expert recommended going the route of the Commander's replacement for their inactive members missing limbs. Integrating full cybernetics went a little smoother and didn't run the risk of implant rejection. Having the body attack itself never worked out well for the patient in the long-term. To have similar augmentations to the level of Vult's, additional materials were requisitioned from the Vortian station. Leery, but accepting with Turb's authorization, the quartermaster relinquished the refined items and materials from his inventory.
The VDF munitions, armaments, and ordnance, on the other hand, were met with obstiance.
Their stores were not infinite and logistics were strained after the fall of Vort. Krata, a great distance away, and other Federation worlds soon to be greeted by Armada invasionary fleets, left them without routine resupply. Thankfully, their newly-appointed attache in the form of General 'Zharic was able to diplomatically resolve the brewing animosity and garner Aero the sought-after weaponry. The towering Lieutenant, understandably giddy at this, showed her gratitude with a hug. Kiara was suddenly glad she wore her augmented armor as even with its protection, Aero's frightening strength could still be felt.
Where does such a woman get strength like that?
Kyozist Station proved to be a great boon for the visiting Irken vessel. Its ruined reactor was rapidly ripped free of the Engineering deck beneath a small army's worth of personnel. Naturally, their access beyond to the rest of the ship was restricted for a multitude of reasons. Aero, acting engineer and foreman, directed the controlled chaos around-the-clock.
By the next morning, what had been a barely-mitigated disaster appeared inspection-ready. The formerly installed Armada standard equipment, now worth its weight in scrap alone, had disappeared. Admiral 'Narr appropriated the largest powerplant they had immediately available that would fit inside the ship's Engineering deck. What was once spacious had now become cramped, but a cruiser-class vessel sporting a powerplant often utilized in ships nearly twice her size would solve any future power grid or propulsion issues aboard…so long as the coolant system wasn't pushed beyond its operational threshold, naturally.
Turb and his team concluded their work; a successful, intact copy of the Irken Genome had been made and held in Federation hands. The protective case sealed and locked once more, none the wiser, and its custody returned to Vult's team. Their delivery window shrinking fast for Destructia, caution would be thrown to the wind. No shakedown run on this voyage for the new powerplant. Their lives depended on Aero's engineering prowess and the Vortian's craftsmanship.
As quickly as they had arrived, the Ghost of Irk pushed off from Kyozist, their course set for the Empire's newest war-world still under construction. Vara, while apprehensive, was morbidly curious to see what the vessel was capable of after the impromptu upgrade.
She was not disappointed.