Ord's duffle bag hit the floor, glancing around his home before walking further in. Dad's position always saw them holding some rather nice, quaint home for the family, not to mention all the cool things over the years. Though with the revelation that his parents were so much more than what they appeared? He had to know for sure.
Skrem was in the living room, boots propped up on a table, sipping some imported Vortian ale, wearing a SpecOps field uniform, though unsoiled by any vigorous activities. He was busy watching others do their time. The former Invader glanced over his shoulder as he saw his son. He could hardly contain a grin.
"Ah, Double Zero!" His usual demeanor was ever apparent. "How's summer camp?"
Ord blinked, "Dad, it's officer candidate school meant for those bound for the Honor Guard."
"Yeah, I know, summer camp."
A sigh followed as Ord moved to the sofa to take a seat. "If you want to know, I've honestly considered requesting a transfer to SpecOps once I graduate from the academy."
Skrem's grin was beyond suppressing now. "Is that so?"
"Yeah. One of my professors has been filling me in on some stuff. Got me thinking that I'd rather do something with my career. Like what you did."
"You know the Invaders are gone, Ord."
"I mean the Shadow Strikers."
Skrem's grim disappeared at the mention of that name. His boots came off the table as he leaned forward. "...the what now?"
Rarely was his father so serious in tone or body language as he was in that moment.
"The Shadow…Strikers?" Ord repeated, equal parts concerned as he was confused. "ASOG-SS or whatever the official designation was…is?"
Skrem sighed. He always wanted to be the one to tell his son about the past but that'd end with him in a long term stay on the sofa. "...Who's squealing?"
"Professor Corr."
"Really? Here I thought Kazak materialized out of the ether from his solitude. Corr's the last one that would spill it. Or at least that's what I thought. What do you know?"
Relieved his father wasn't going to blow a gasket over this revelation, he relaxed.
"So far? Pretty much everything up to the point of you being plucked out of Hel by Orkos and his team. Even seen stuff from Ohnmatu's side."
"Ah..so I can't even play stupid then and make you question your sanity. Unfortunate." He teased his son.
Skrem paused, rising from his seat to briefly enter the kitchen. Opening the fridge, he took up another bottle of ale. The tried-and-true method of using the countertop edge that made Rem furious at him popped the top with ease. He offered the beverage to Ord.
"Dad…" Ord took the bottle and looked at it, "I'm not old enough to drink."
"You are now. Mom's not home. Our secret."
Ord simply shrugged as he took a sip of the beverage, wincing slightly much to his dad's amusement. Skrem found his seat once more with a reclining sigh.
"...knowin' Corr, he's been graphically honest with you about the whole thing so far. Never was one to sugarcoat things. Something him and Vult had in common. Couple of hardasses."
"Why's he look so old?"
"What do you mean?"
"Like…the dude looks positively ancient. You and mom seem more middle aged."
Skrem chuckled, "I'm not about to spoil the story if he's the one tellin' it."
"Not even if Chavsa got her c'hurta laid out?"
"Only that it was a bad time for the bookie on that fight." Skrem laughed as Ord took another sip.
"Where's mom?"
"Oh she'll be back soon."
"On another cruise?"
"Nah, something else." Skrem then got a message ping, pulling out a small communicator and seeing a message. "Well, now that you're home, come on. Mom says she wants help with something." The two rose from their seats and went out the front door, seeing Rem pulling up with her utility vehicle; old Empire built but reconfigured for civilians after the war ended. The trunk popped open as one of the rear side doors opened, a man in work pants, work boots, and a long sleeve shirt stepping out.
"Can you give me my cards back now!?" The old man was none other than the retired General himself.
"So you can abscond elsewhere and leave me by my lonesome? I think not." His rather tall, lime-green eyed spouse positively beaming with smug energy stepped out. "You can put that strong back of yours to work and get our luggage though, grump."
"I'll get them," Rem offered, stepping out herself intending to do so.
"No, no, he is quite capable of handling it himself like the strong, independent man he is." Zha facetiously spoke, wistfully smiling at him. "Isn't that right, dear?"
"I hate vacations." Vaukt mumbled, preferring to be near his workshop instead.
Skrem immediately recognized one of the voices. "General, is that you?"
Vaukt turned around to face Skrem. "Yes it is, General. How's my job treating you?"
"Oh, just fine. You see my boy lately?" Skrem yanked Ord closer with a pat on the back. "Future SpecOps officer material right here!"
"Vaukt! Bags!" Zha barked at him. "Have all the time in the world to catch up after the work's done. I thought you liked working?"
Rem did her best to remain impartial despite the small smirk of amusement gracing her lips as she locked the craft up, approaching Skrem and Ord. Her son was the first target for a big, motherly hug…at least that was the intention until he saw the opened beer in his hand.
"What's that?"
"What's what?" Ord spoke, confused as his mother snatched the cold drink from his hand for closer inspection.
Her elation at having her son home to visit was overshadowed once again by her mate's poor decision-making.
"...I'm gone for FIVE minutes and you give him BOOZE?" She incredulously accosted Skrem.
"Mom-"
A finger snapped and pointed in his face to be quiet. Something she picked up from her commanding officers, it seemed.
"...you got ten seconds to explain yourself." Rem pointedly spoke to Skrem.
"He's fuckin' earned it!" Skrem answered, including a bit of Vortian vocabulary. "C'mon…he's drank before. He can lie all he wants, but he has. All these kids do crap they're not supposed to these days. Part of growin' up!"
A smug smirk crept across his face.
"'Sides, he's under adult supervision. No better place to do it, right?"
"You're barely an adult by any legal definition." Rem scoffed, sighing. "...fine."
"Fine?"
"Yes, fine." She reiterated. "Decipher however you want."
"...mom?" Ord tempted. "To be fair…I did tell him I wasn't supposed to drink."
"Oh, you little shit! You sold me out!" His tone was anything but serious.
Vaukt chuckled, watching the exchange as he dug their bags out of the trunk. "He would've done that back in my day, that'd be a blanket party."
"Well, he did the right thing telling the truth, just like I raised him." Rem smiled at the proverbial egg on Skrem's face. "...and you are becoming a man yourself. Can't smeet you forever."
"...so you're admitting it's fine he has a drink with his old man then?"
"Shut up and go in the house."
About that time, Zha followed after Vaukt, nearly a full-head taller than him.
"I know that look and tone well. Be wise to listen. Be more like Vaukt here. I have him trained well."
Vaukt shot her a glare, "Woman, you best watch your tone or I'll deprive you of my company with a trip to the woods."
"Oh no…the horror…" She deadpanned facetiously as the preceission made their way into the home. "Don't threaten me with a good time, young man."
"Fine, I'll disappear when we get home and see how you like it." Vaukt smirked as he looked over his shoulder at Skrem. "Bitch boy, get the trunk door. Got something in there for you."
Skrem mumbled and made his way to the vehicle, pulling out a custom display case Vaukt crafted for him: black painted wood, purple backing, and a pair of hangars within. One for his old custom carbine and the other for his rifle. A small plaque of brass hand engraved on the bottom of the display stand caught his attention. His old rank of Invader, years of service to the Empire, and a blank section for his service to the Republic.
"How about that…" Skrem smiled, taking the display case inside and right to his study to mount on the wall later.
Ord meanwhile sipped his beer, no use letting it go to waste even after getting caught. He looked at the two visitors and blinked in realization. "You're High Marshal Zha and General Vaukt aren't you? From the Siege of Tallum? I never made the connection until recently."
Here he always thought these two were quasi-grandparents but never had to fit two and two together on the relations everyone in his life had until Corr's recent revelations.
Neither immediately answered…and all three sets of eyes immediately snapped to Skrem accusingly. Had his big, fat mouth gotten a little too loose in recent days? Ord, taking notice, felt it prudent before his father dug his proverbial hole deeper by being him.
"...Corr is one of my professors at OCS…he's been telling me about his old unit…and everyone involved."
"So the old man throws OPSEC out the window in his old age I guess." Vaukt chuckled. "Yes we are, Ord. The very same."
"If it makes you feel any better, it wasn't kept from you out of spite." Zha reasoned. "More we wanted a simple life and to be left alone. Hard to do that with everyone kissing your c'hurta non-stop everywhere you go. I would be surprised if half of the Republic is aware we're still alive."
"Boy told me he's getting to the juicy stuff now. Just busted me out of Hel." Skrem grinned.
"Ah yes, you and your icy prison with Buros and his merry band of augmented Vortians." Vaukt laughed. "Want to tell him how an Invader got caught and thrown into stasis by a bunch of Elite Shock Troopers while you're at it?"
"...Maybe once he's working for me."
"Working for you?" Rem quizzingly spoke, finding her seat at the table with the last of the platters placed. "He's in OCS for Honor Guard, Skrem. He isn't going to work for you."
"Yeah, about that, Mom…" Ord hesitantly broached.
The young man's words instantly put the pieces together to form a picture she was none too keen on looking at.
"...why on Irk would you give up the most prestigious posting there is in the Republic to risk life-and-limb for questionable reasons?" She struggled to comprehend, shaking her head before looking to Skrem and Vaukt. "Either of you put him up to this?"
"I just got here!" Vaukt defended himself.
"I know how you are, you're still suspect."
"It's Corr's doing, my sweet." Skrem answered, "Ord told me himself. Ever since he started hearing about this he said he's thought about doing what I do."
His mother looked at him, somewhat more stern than usual. Not in her typical maternal fury she was well-documented for with Skrem suffering her wrath. A forlorn, distant look of discomfort. The weary expression of a soldier in the aftermath of conflict not quick to seek another engagement.
"...if Corr's been telling you what Vaukt and your father did…then you know what I did…and what happened to me. This isn't a game, even at peace-time. People get hurt and people die. He told you about Volx, didn't he? What happened to her?"
"Yeah, mom, he did. He's been going sequentially. We're through the point of dad coming on at Hel now." Ord answered.
"Which means he knows about Volx and how you face fucked a building before I even met you." Skrem added in.
His poorly-timed attempt at humor earned him a solid slug in the shoulder from his mate.
"This isn't a joke, jackass!" She all but snarled at him, looking back to Ord. "...why do you want to put yourself in danger like that? The things we did was so you wouldn't ever have to."
Vaukt began to raise his hand to speak, only to have Zha lower it with a shake of her head. This was a family matter and didn't involve them.
"Because I don't want to spend an entire career standing around doing nothing." Ord cut right to the matter. "I actually want to do something useful. I've thought about it, Honor Guard doesn't do all that much. Even in the shadows I'm still being useful. I know what I'm hearing, I've heard what happened to all of you. I've seen the photos Corr showed me. I still want this, mom. I'd want it just like you and everyone else did when Vult recruited you."
"Even if it mangles you? Maims you? Kills you?" Rem attempted to speak reason into her son. "You know how I felt about you joining the military in the first place. I was relieved when you chose the path you did…ours is not one to emulate. Nothing good comes from it. Only broken spirits and bodies."
"Yes, yes to all of those." Ord stood his ground on his newfound stance. "Mom…you, dad, Vaukt, Zha, all of you did something to give us this life I have. This freedom I enjoy rather than being slaved to those PAKs you guys have. I wouldn't trade it for the world. Why can't I carry the same risk to see the next generation get to enjoy it too?"
A long, weary sigh escaped Rem with a rub of her temples before raising her head with a pursed smile.
"...because I'm your mother and I'm always going to worry about my little smeetie pie until the day I die, that's why…but you are your own man and you are one-hundred percent correct in your reasoning. You got my brains because that definitely didn't come from your father."
"If he didn't have brains would he have been able to unshackle me?" A disembodied voice spoke up through one of the intercom speakers.
"A broken clock is right twice a day. Occasionally there are signs of sentient activity in his brain." Rem chided at the familiar voice. "...and it's rude to interject yourself into conversations you aren't a part of, Al. Not that you listen or care…"
"Oh, come now, don't be like that. I don't call you a meatbag all the time."
Skrem meanwhile looked at Vaukt and Zha, gesturing to Rem, "Do you see how she wounds me so?"
"You give me the same impression as the fresh-faced recruit who wants to watch their grenade explode after they threw it and she is "protecting" you from yourself." Zha deduced before sampling her beverage. "You have all the power in the universe to protect yourself. She just cares that much about you."
"You are the reason we started putting warning labels on everything." Rem concluded towards her mate's direction, earning a stifled snicker of a laugh from Zha into her drink.
"I teach Ord how to make a chlorine gas grenade just once and suddenly you want to slap labels on everything!"
"He was FIVE you IDIOT!" She screeched at him, one of several topics that came up all far too often with similar results.
"Just like that machine gun you gave him when he was ten," Vaukt added with a smirk.
"Don't forget the flamethrower when he turned twelve." The AI piled on.
"...That's your SiR AI isn't it? It's Alurac." Ord asked.
"He's learning!" Alurac exclaimed. "I was wondering when you'd be brought into the truth of things."
Vaukt sat in a kitchen seat with an amused smirk, "Rem, you did mate the man who called Red and Purple an imbecile right to their face. He has smarts…he just has a really thick head."
"It is possible to be intelligent and still lack common sense…or tact…or dignity." She sighed, half-serious.
"Surely he has some quality traits for you to be with him this long and have your little smeetie pie here." Zha teased the young man.
"Zhaaaaaaa!" Ord huffed in frustration causing Skrem to laugh.
"Don't let anyone find out you get called that with your transfer or you'll never live it down." He leaned back against the wall to look at Rem. "Yeah, let's hear why you're with me and why we had Ord. I know for sure you didn't want me because I'm up front and shit."
"Insanity. Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result." Rem facetiously answered, looking at him matter-of-factly. "...and I'm not going to spoil Corr's story hour. Your son's going to find out how full of crap you actually are."
"I mean, it happens. Sometimes you smack me, sometimes you don't!" Skrem cracked a grin.
"You are a real hardhead though, Skrem. But it's one of the reasons you were one of the best hard chargers that I let mess around with non-standard equipment." Vaukt added in. "Ord, get me a beer, would you?"
"Sure." Ord made his way to the fridge, getting one out of the fridge and using a bottle opener to crack the top, rather than imitate his dad while his mother was present in the room. He delivered the bottle before returning to where he was.
"And hey, I'm not the one who got to torture Posa for a good long while now am I?" Skrem shot a look at his mate.
"Yes, because I planned on having to crap in a bag for several months after doing my best impression of minced meat and surviving." She sarcastically spat, rolling her eyes. "...but it was a little funny with her being the bottom bitch in the infirmary."
"What was that joke Hesa made you told me about?" Skrem asked, "Something about a pirate?"
"Oh, yes! That if she wanted to keep her eyepatch she should swab the poop deck like a pirate!" And immediately both Skrem and Alurac burst out laughing.
"Funnier every time," Zha mused with a pursed smile, looking to the young man seated next to his mother. "...seeing as I have a body of experience in all of this, Ord…can you tolerate people like me giving you nonsensical orders and impossible objectives risking life-and-limb with no fanfare or affirmation of your efforts? Your record and accomplishments buried behind countless security measures to never see the light of day until long after your death and only then a redacted, sanitized report at best?"
"Why do you think the amount of awards I have is significantly less than her's?" Vaukt added in, sipping on his beer afterwards.
"Because I'm better at what I did…" She muttered cheekily before taking a drink.
"Mhm, never would've breached Tallum if not for my strategies and Vult's team, Reg."
"Okay, you two can whip your egos out and compare them later." Rem butted in. "...but he's got a point. One of the reasons why Corr's risking…everything telling you all about this stuff. He's afraid it'll get locked up and the key lost with time so no one knows the truth. The same mentality that led to the Empire in the first place."
"I know…" Ord sighed, "I know. Maybe I've started looking up to him as a good example recently now that I know about him and he's not…just the ex Elite who came over every so often."
"Despite your mother's bias, smeetie pie," Zha teased, returning to a more serious tone. "...You are your own man and capable of making your own choices. Freedom and will, just like you said before. I am not as in-the-know, but you have seen what has become of Corr…of my wonderful, little worker bee…" She added, pinching Vaukt's cheek playfully. "...complete and utter commitment and a willingness to sacrifice anything asked of you. You've seen what became of the survivors and how it's changed them. This is the same future you have to look forward to should you pursue a similar path."
Ord sighed, silent for a few moments, "Considering how close knit all of you are and staying in touch, it can't be all bad, right?"
"Most of us…" Rem muttered behind her mug.
"You mean like Kazak, mom?"
"...as Sula told me a long time ago, there was nothing medically wrong with him with the exception of his head needing to be surgically removed from his own ass. I get it, he didn't cope well with the changes and what came thereafter…but we were all there too. Nothing but support and understanding…and what's he do? Push everyone away and act like we're the reason he's distant! You know, I wouldn't be so bitter about it if he wasn't an asshole about it."
A pause as she helped herself to Skrem's ale with a wince.
"Reminds me of all those edgy, anti-hero characters in your comics and vids when you were growing up. Please tell me you aren't going to turn into one of those types."
"If I ever do, you have my full permission to break out the paddle."
'I don't need your permission. I'm your mother and you're never too old for having your ass busted." She smiled at Ord sweetly.
"I've always liked how tight a ship you run around here." Zha complimented.
"Bridge or bathroom, it's all relative."
"Yeah that'd be great. My future thirty year old ass getting spanked by my mom in front of everyone if I turn the least bit edgy." Ord spoke as he took his beer back and took a sip.
"Careful, boy, she might do it right here, right now." Vaukt smirked.
"...From what Corr told us, he preferred being alone before he was unhooked. Did…did it just make it worse for him?" Ord seemed to seriously consider of the much maligned sniper, "He seemed like he focuses on his failings and thinks the best way to not have them repeated is to be alone."
"That's pretty well it in summary. He fixated on shortcomings and obsessed over mistakes. Nothing wrong with acknowledging fault and doing better or learning, but it controlled him. Instead of working through it with outside help or input, he shelled up and pushed us all away. Man wanted to suffer alone, so we gave up and let him suffer alone. He's got a whole heap of animosity and resentment towards us for…doing what he wanted us to do. I don't have a problem with him, but he's always been a cold jerk…well, with everyone but Vult anyway."
"To say he was charismatic would be the understatement of the century." Zha added in earnest. "Man did bridge the gap with the Vortians to set things into motion, after all."
"Yeah…Corr told us about what he, Vard, and Kazak went through on Kyozist when they went with Turb." Ord paused and looked at his mother. "So, let me guess, my entire life I've been surrounded by the Shadow Strikers, your kids, and the High Command rebels but never knew the true depth of it all."
Rem's head moved side-to-side in contemplation as she carefully constructed her response mentally.
"...somewhat. You're smart enough to know why it was kept from you. You think your father wants to be quiet about how much of an intergalactic badass he claims he is? Of course not. Far as being surrounded by all of them…we're like-minded and we stuck together because of the same reason we can't tell normal people a word about what we did. We know and that's all that matters."
She smiled softly, resting a consoling hand to her son's shoulder with a gentle squeeze.
"That team and those that helped us are my family as much as I am yours. They are your family, too."
"Just like Haxx said you guys were when you first started, huh?" Ord smiled back at her.
"And the family just got bigger over time." Skrem chuckled.
"A lot bigger in some cases." Rem huffed with a laugh. "I've lost count how many smeets Aero's popped out."
"I believe she's up to six…I'll have to check our Vlaaksmas list." Zha commented.
"Six?!" Ord blinked then paused and looked between Zha and Rem. "Wait, so you guys are saying Turb found a way to reverse the sterility in PAK'd Irken?"
Rem blinked.
"...yes, that's how you exist, Ord."
"Siph was thinking we were grown in a test tube with your DNA thanks to him." Ord said, surprised at the revelation.
She turned to Skrem with a gaze of uncertainty and suspicion.
"...you had "the talk" with him, didn't you? I know you didn't forget that. Not even you would forget something like that."
"Of course I told him." Skrem scoffed.
"Then why is he confused? It's pretty straightforward. Did you manage to screw that up?"
"Mom, we didn't even reach that part where Turb would have done that yet."
"I know, hun…I told your father to explain-"
"Sex makes smeets." Zha cut to the heart of the matter. "Do you know what that is?"
"I know!" Ord let out a frustrated groan. "I mean, we didn't reach the part of the story where he fixed that for you guys yet. So far we've been assuming that things were different for us being in the first generation and you guys being PAK'd and sterile."
"Well, surprise! It ain't!" Skrem shook his shoulder. "Sorry for the spoiler but that's exactly what happened. We did a magical trick and boom, you pop out months later!"
"Dear Irk…" Rem sighed, rubbing her temples at Skrem's antics. "Spare him the details, please…even I don't want to share them in current company."
"Probably for the best unless you want to watch your son die of embarrassment." Zha chuckled.
"Well you see-" Skrem started
"Skrem."
"What?"
"You are about ten seconds from spending your life banished to the outer darkness and she might call Emperor Corr himself to do it for her."
"...So how about that weather huh?"