The scene aboard the General Krad upon Vaukt's arrival was something of a controlled chaos to say the least. Technicians running about, prosthetics undergoing production in a makeshift assembly room, Mhar revealed as an accomplished surgeon despite his humility. Not to mention Vaukt's new strategy in how to go about changing the direction of things. His plan with the resistance needed salvaging and Grimm seemed to need an even bigger lesson than that received on Vort.
The armored General strolled the halls, passing by everyone furiously at work. No salutes or any formalities exchanged. Their work came first and Vaukt prided himself on their capabilities speaking more volumes than saluting when under duress. He had people to speak to in the meantime. He rounded a corner into the briefing room where Yim, Sko, and Kiz were waiting, semi fresh from their…ordeal, along with Amka, dressed more casually as he had been sleeping prior to the sudden arrival.
"Lost an antenna?"
"Half deaf but still just as capable, General."
"Better than totally deaf. How's this compare to taking over for Invader Skog on the last leg of Vort?"
"Fighting Vortians was preferable to bugs."
"So I can see from what you went through." Vaukt sighed, "Yim, I trust Zha so I'm trusting you; I want a no shit assessment of the situation. Should this campaign on Vylat continue or do we need to recommend bypassing it for now and return to it later?"
The Marshal, still reeling from narrowly escaping a multitude of deaths, stood before Vaukt. Her uniform, disheveled, ripped, and torn with a myriad of stains. Some clearly that of Irken blood not belonging to her. Most of it the disgusting fluids a result of the Vylatian brood being beaten back by the crew.
"I believe…that…" She began, matter-of-factly in her haggard state before focusing on Vaukt's gaze. "...that Supreme Commander Grimm is going to get all of us killed and I am beginning to question if it is intentional or not…permission to speak freely, General?"
"You actually outrank me but speak your mind. Nothing said here leaves this room unless you want it to." Vaukt reached into a pouch on his armor to withdraw a pack of cigarettes and his lighter, offering them to her in case she needed something to steady her nerves at all.
"I…well, yes, that is technically correct, I suppose…" She realized, accepting the offered smoke and taking no time to light it for a lengthy drag and shaky exhale. "...Zha does not appreciate us speaking ill of superiors in any capacity but Grimm is a fucking idiot as far as I'm concerned. I told him this would happen. I understood why she was brought aboard, but we didn't have proper containment procedures for an alien of her nature."
Her free hand gestured to Sko with another puff.
"Not that I need validation, but General Sko was there as well. I am not making this up or a personal vendetta."
"Yeah, boss, we ended up having to shoot our way out of that mess. As soon as Kiz came to me with what was told to her…" he paused and shook his head. His uniform was neater around the torso but his armor was totaled. It and the helmet were stained in Irken and Vylatian gore. "Aside from the weird things of us being Vylatian descendants and the Queen apparently able to communicate with us by pheromones? She was completely correct about the Queen wanting to escape. So I prepped my best squad and myself. I was just bummed that Grimm decided not to make a heroic stand on the bridge and become a Vylatian brood sac."
Yim gave a humorless, singular laugh aloud.
"Grimm? Heroic? He'd sooner throw all of us into the wood chipper while he exits stage left."
"No shit. I would've left him behind but, you know, treason." Sko shrugged.
"And then they show up here and…" Amka gestured out the door. "I thought that night with the Shadow Strikers was bad? I'd take a dozen of those over…this."
Vaukt withdrew a smoke himself once Yim returned them to him. "All right…I think I heard what I needed to hear. Yim, go collect yourself, see if you can't borrow a spare set of clothes from someone. Fill out your report recommending we bypass Vylat or we're going to face casualties far beyond Vort. Put the entire blame on Grimm, get Zha to back your recommendation on it. Should be enough to pull everyone off of this shitshow.."
"Appreciative as I am of this recommendation, General…we can't simply just…not invade." She reasoned, removing her frayed cap with a wipe of her soiled brow, hand falling to her side. "Orders are orders and as idiotic and reckless as Grimm was…the strategy behind it was sound."
"Yes, and now his strategy has utterly failed. She's going to rally the defenses. We'll be facing casualties hundreds of times of Vort with his quote unquote tactics. Like you said, he'd sooner throw you into a woodchipper? How'd you like to lead from the front or have him make you a head shorter himself?"
The Marshal wanted to refute Vaukt's logic. She wasn't in disagreement, but more concerned with her own fate as command staff and a soldier of the Empire. All of the initial preparation and reconnaissance was thrown out the window of usefulness with the Alpha Queen's escape and return to Vylat…but orders were orders.
"...if…I have High Marshal Zha's approval, I will stand the Troopers down and stand by. I cannot speak for Grimm, unfortunately…but if he proceeds without my assistance, they will be torn to shreds from all sides. Be more efficient to line the Elites up on Devastis and shoot them in the back of the head before they board the transports."
"I'm sure given the name of Vaukt for the recommendation given to you…and just how stupid Grimm is, you'll have it. She's not content to clean up yet another one of his messes. I promised I'd do it for her. So…do that, it'll be a formality, but we'll spare the Troopers. Sko."
"Yeah?"
"Order all of SpecOps to stand down here."
"Us too huh?"
"If Grimm is stupid enough to go ahead with this, I'm not having any of our guys killed. Let him send Elites into the grinder."
"Understood."
"Amka, just make sure these two are comfortable. You also get the stand down order."
"Phew…"
Sko just had a realization, "Um…we actually have a thermobaric warhead on this ship. We were going to blow up the Queen."
"Your vacation trip to bug city is canceled. Though…make sure there's a shuttle prepped. I may need to do something."
Marshal Yim, cap tucked under her arm, reached around her belt. Reaching into a pouch in search of her dataslate, she instead pulled out the fresh viscera of the queen's broodspawn. Grimacing in equal parts disgust and frustration, she slung it with a wet slap onto the floor at her feet before reaching into another to find the cracked device still functioning.
"...if any punctuation and spelling errors can be excused, I have documented the outline of events from our initial arrival in-system until my arrival aboard the General Krad." She explained, offering the dataslate to Vaukt. "Protocol requires High Marshal Zha to review this…but you are here as-ordered in her stead, are you not? Whatever gets this filed and above Grimm, the better. I know he will commit his forces and paint Vylat green with Irken blood."
"I'm sure Warmaster Burgg would love to see this."
"Wait, Burgg, the Minister of War?" Amka blinked.
"Correct, the previous Supreme Commander who now outranks Grimm. He's been around since the aftermath of the first Impending Doom."
"I think I was going to be under him going to hit Orenk. Small galaxy."
"Well, he'll be seeing this. Hopefully he reacts quickly or there are going to be a lot of missing Elites in the Empire in short order."
"I will follow-up formally if required but in the meantime, I need to…decontaminate." Yim settled for with a shaky nod. "...and your Invader assigned to Vylat did not look…well before going into surgery. You may want to check on her."
"Yes…go take a shower…you too Sko. Unless you like wearing bug guts and Irken blood."
"What a mess." Sko walked over to Yim, putting an arm around her as they left the room. Vaukt's attention then quickly turned to Kiz.
"How about you?"
"Nossa has priority. Bruised, pretty sure I'm bleeding internally, but she's far worse off."
"Amka, if she passes out, make sure Mhar sees her."
"Will do."
Vaukt turned and left the room, making his way to the medbay of the ship where Mhar was still hard at work tending to Nossa. Yim wasn't joking…
Nossa, the presumed patient currently under the expertise of the resident medical expert and any capable survivors of the disaster that brought evacuees aboard, barely looked Irken. More like a pile of meat and tubes, really. Her chest cavity, ribcage and all, cracked wide open with multiple sets of hands meticulously repairing existing cybernetics and installing new components due to grievous wounds sustained.
Worst of all was her face. Even after being cleaned up with the hanging strips of sinew, tendons, and flesh trimmed, seeing the bloodied, vacant eye socket and bare, green-tinged bone could turn the most cast-iron of spooches. Reconstructive components were already being fitted and prepared to be set, complete with a full-spectrum ocular implant. The wonders of modern medicine.
"Mhar, how is she?"
Stepping back as the medical team continued work, he approached Vaukt. Bloodied gloves removed the surgical mask before peeling them off his hands one-by-one.
"Alive. Barely, but alive. She'd have been a greasy spot on the ship were it not for her existing cybernetics." He began, sighing. "The team you brought with you definitely improved her odds tremendously. Assuming there's no implant rejection or other unforeseen issues, she should be upright in a matter of days. Safe to say she'll want to finish what she started and someone needs to talk some sense into her."
"It might be Burgg telling her himself by then, hopefully." Vaukt mentioned before looking over his star invader. So close to the brink of death and yet, here she was, quite a survivor of numerous run ins with death already…in an instance that topped the list for her thus far. He had also just handed off his second best Invader to Vult. Though Nossa was fanatically loyal to the Empire.
Unlike himself now…
"I trust your work." An armored hand of Vaukt's came up to Mhar's shoulder, nodding in reassurance. "She's in good hands. See to it she pulls through and hopefully Burgg will let it be noted in the record that her mission was a total success but higher command absolutely butchered the execution."
"I'd hope so, General. Not exactly her fault and she managed to save Kiz's life." Mhar observed with a huff. "I will keep you updated on her condition. All goes according to plan, you should be able to speak with her in a day or two."
"Good. Keep up the fine work." The General turned and left the room. He proceeded through the ship, back to the hangar, taking a seat in the back, he sent a message to the communicator left by Amka with the Barren Queen. He wanted a meeting, in person, outside her hive. They needed to talk, reconsider the plan. Whatever it took to salvage the operation, at least for the resistance. Grimm making a stupid maneuver in the meantime wasn't a concern for him.
Some time later the shuttle would descend from the General Krad to the Barren Queen's hive, the fully armored General disembarking. The flight crew remained on board, but he intended to do this alone. He had some confidence in the arrangement thanks to Amka after all. Not to mention these recent developments…anything less than an in-person appearance would betray cowardice in his movement, and the General was anything but one. The Warriors outside gave way when the entourage of Royals emerged from the Hive. So the Barren could read as well as speak some common? This was good to know.
Just as the Major had been escorted, so was Vaukt. Down into the earthly barrows of the Lost Hive he went, following the same path. The level of activity had picked up since Amka's visit. The fire raining from the sky of broken debris burning up on re-entry into the atmosphere from the destroyed battleship above brought the inhabitants to high alert. That and the planetwide call-to-arms by the extremely irate Alpha Queen and her brood. Legions of Lost Hive soldiers scurried about in chittering chaos to organize their ranks and answer whatever call came.
Vaukt found himself standing in the throne room a short time after passing through the palace gates. A seemingly important discussion of tactics and current events taking place between the Barren Queen and her loyal servants. Orders needed to be carried out and measures taken for the impending arrival of their unwanted guests.
Vaukt approached the Queen until a pair of bipedal Royals stopped him by blocking any further advance. The General cleared his throat, remaining completely armored for the meantime.
"Well, this is not how I imagined our first in person meeting occurring, nor so soon after we had made our arrangements. But, it appears that the man the Empire assigned to this campaign remains a consummate idiot and butchered the whole idea." He paused to take a breath. "We need to reconfigure how to handle the resistance against the Empire. I still have the arms shipments planned but for right now, I've managed to get a part of the invasion force on hold, but not all of it."
Hearing the newly-arrived General out, she stepped forward with a series of clicks and chitters, bringing her protectors to relax and stand aside.
"...Empire, Irken not attacking? Alpha Queen return. Alpha Queen angry. Alpha Queen furious. Demands fealty. Die to Empire, Irken or her…where Amka, Major? Who is before me?"
"General Vaukt. I was on the hologram when we spoke last time when I had Amka come here." He answered the easier question first. "As for the second, it depends how quick Irk is at responding to the circumstances. The idiot who decided to try and keep the Alpha furious decided that…just chaining her up in a hangar was sufficient enough."
"Vaukt, General…Empire, Irken capture Alpha. Alpha taken from Vylat. Alpha return to Vylat. Fire falls from sky…Alpha Queen cause?"
"Indeed. Her escape caused the invading force to destroy the main ship of the fleet up above. What's falling to your planet is a bunch of fragments of an Irken battleship."
The Vylatian Queen pondered Vaukt's words briefly. A title of her head and flutter of her wings followed before speaking once again.
"...Vaukt, General agree to assist Lost Hive. Alpha Hive demand Lost Hive fight. Lost Hive cannot fight Empire, Irken. Not long. Unable to lay brood, replenish losses. Will die out. Cannot help Vaukt, General if all dead."
"Yeah…yeah I figured as much. Amka told me as much. I can drop down a few crates of captured Orenkian weapons from when I was there, but it's not going to be a whole lot…but then again, you won't be fighting a lot of Irken either. It might just be enough." Vaukt grinned behind his helmet. "The leader in charge, he's stupid enough that he'll likely commit the Elites. Three to five hundred thousand. The combined might of the various hives should be able to make quick work of them, yes?"
"Yes. Alpha Hive larger." The Queen acknowledged. "Empire, Irken swarmed. Empire, Irken devoured. Vylat win. Defeat imminent. Why commit?"
"The man in charge of the Vylat campaign has an extremely bruised ego…the news you heard about the casualties at Vort? If you heard it, anyhow…Yeah, that was him. He's going to commit to a conventional attack to try and stay on schedule, no matter how stupid of an idea it is."
The Barren Queen considered Vaukt's words briefly. Several questions circulated her mind, seeking much-needed answers. Ploy? Ruse? Trap? Was he being authentic or was this part of an elaborate scheme to see their quickened end.
"...why interrupt Empire, Irken making mistake? Enemy make mistake, never correct. Take advantage."
"Correct. At the same time, this mistake does impact my plans to end the Empire." His head shook, "Some of my cohorts are included in this mess and I've instructed them differently, but the man making the mistakes has been known to sever the heads of his subordinates. I would like to prevent that with my allies if I can help it."
"...Vaukt, General requires aid. What aid required?"
"For now…hold off the Empire. I'm sure that fool will land troops. But I hate to say this, I am going to need a meeting with a very angry Alpha Queen. I'm going to need her support in the resistance as well by the look of things."
"Alpha Queen likely to eat you, not speak to. Do not recommend."
"Yeah, well, I don't think I have much of a choice. If I send things in to you and yours she's bound to get suspicious of your intent." Vaukt facepalmed, even in the helmet. "Unlike the Empire, I have no desire to see her kneel to me. I just want the Empire gone and then leave your planet alone."
The towering insectoid looked to her familiars with a brief exchange of bug speak beyond Vaukt's translator. Whatever recommendation or suggestion she insinuated was not well-received by her subordinates to which she loudly screeched unkindly at them. A firm reminder of hierarchy was enough to see them depart the room, disgruntled.
"...great trust in Vaukt, General placed. Audience requested of Alpha Queen. May be permitted to speak. May become meal. Only chance. Great risk to all."
"Thank you." Zha would definitely not forgive him if he became food. She'd find some way to show up, tear him out of bug guts, and kill him herself. Or his armor would hold up and he'd be something of canned food instead. It remained to be seen.
In the intervening time, a second shuttle arrived from above as some Royals escorted Amka to the Queen's chamber. The Major, fully outfitted once again just in case, came with a hovering cart with a number of crates. The weapons as promised by Vaukt for the coming Irken offensive.
"Special delivery, for our ally." Amka cracked open one of the crates and withdrew one of the weapons, an Orenkian multi-shot grenade launcher fitted with a chainsaw style blade for melee use and tossed it to one of the nearby bipedal Royals for inspection before proceeding to break open the other crates of captured weapons.
Whatever morbid curiosity over the boon of an arsenal brought before them could be shared, a great cacophony of activity garnered the room's attention. The thundering flutter of many wings, terrified calls, and clatter of armor and weapons sounded briefly before the doors to the throne room were unkindly thrown open with enough force to break them off their hinges and fall to the floor inside.
The mending Alpha Queen and a robust entourage of her finest soldiers at her back sent most of the Lost Hive's inhabitants scurrying for safety with a few brave souls standing their ground to protect their Barren Queen. Not even Nossa's attempts to see her demise could bring her down. Fresh scars a plenty, but rapidly healing, and broken limb slung with her missing one dressed and healing. Her familiar bladed implements of destruction on her person, ready for battle. Pure, unrestrained fear lay ahead of her and rightfully so. She bested the Empire's finest and was all but beyond reason. Vylatians were not known for their mercy.
Before Amka or Vaukt could react, the Barren Queen quickly sprung into action. A leap forward, aided by her wings, she placed herself before the Irken, attempting to explain in a series of clicks and chitters. Her diplomatic efforts earned her an unkind swat aside with a sneering hiss into her face. The Lost Hive's leader immediately turned away, cowering. She dared not rise against the Alpha. To do so would be a challenge worthy of death.
That did not stop her from unsheathing her swords, held low and ready.
Amka stepped back slightly with the Alpha's sudden approach and drawn blades, but Vaukt remained where he was, statuesque behind his own power armor. He would not dare give the appearance of fear, it would be foolish for such a meeting. Though he did need a pause to collect his words before he spoke.
One of the Alpha's swords snapped toward the stationary Vaukt, mere inches from his chest as she looked down upon him with venomous contempt.
"What part of "unwelcome" did your species fail to comprehend?! You set foot on MY world! AGAIN! You have five seconds to plead your case before I flay you alive and dine on your entrails. Speak!"
"One Irken came expecting you to grovel. The other thought he could keep you in chains. I am not going to insult your intelligence, your station, or your prowess in combat. I come asking for an alliance with my faction against the Empire." Vaukt cut straight to it, preferable as demonstrated previously. He also gestured to the crates of weapons nearby. "I also came to bring some arms to this Hive for some added firepower against the additional unwanted guests you're going to have."
Her multifaceted eyes scanned the room, taking note of the armory Amka delivered moments before her arrival. To say tension was palpable was a gross understatement. The Barren Queen's loyal followers were powerless to act with the military might presented by their visitors. The Lost Hive did not attack on-sight, knowing their futility in opposing the might of the Alpha. Now, they were a hair's breadth away from certain death depending on what was uttered or implied.
The Alpha's attention drifted back to Vaukt. Her articulated mandibles and posture did not bode well. Antenna subtly twitching and shifting.
"...you arm my enemies with superior armaments. You fill their heads with delusion, expecting to dethrone me…and of all of them, you choose her." A saber snapped to the Barren Queen with a sneer. "...were I not enthralled with the sheer audacity of these maneuvers, I would cut you down here and now. At what point was this to become a sound strategy? A procession of failure until probability worked in your favor? I am failing to understand why the universe is terrified of you."
"Mother, ple-" The lesser Queen attempted, only to be interrupted.
"Silence! You are equally fortunate, you waste of genetic material! I should set fire to this entire hive for what you've conspired to do!"
Vaukt let out an audible sigh. "Quite honestly, even I begin to wonder why the universe fears the Empire with idiots like Supreme Commander Grimm in charge. The man gets clones killed aplenty on Vort, he's the one who believed kidnapping you and removing you from the planet would cause a planet-wide struggle for dominance and that he could just waltz onto your world and take it for the Empire and your Shatterstone with it."
While Vaukt spoke, Amka placed one hand to his head. Whatever happened to him earlier, it affected him not unlike Kiz in the ship. All around him, the Royal Warriors of the Alpha's entourage and the Barren Queen's spoke, loud conversations outside of audible conversations, and the two Queens engaged in quiet arguments with each other. It was overwhelming.
"I don't want your planet." Vaukt continued, "I don't want your Shatterstone. I want to end the Empire and this needless conquest."
Amka's distress did not go unnoticed in the slightest as the Alpha Queen zeroed in on him.
"You. You follow this one." She pointed her blade tip to Vaukt. "...and your blood sings to me. How? Tell me."
Amka looked to Vaukt briefly, the General glared back through the eyes of his helmet, practically demanding an answer from him.
"The General sent me down here to secure this Hive's assistance for the General's plan to end the Empire and the conquests, to leave Vylat alone, to leave your Shatterstone alone. The arrangement was sealed with a blood pact."
"Lost Hive fight Empire, Irken, not Alpha." The Barren Queen added, wary of her tone and intrusion.
"This is why you force a pact with aliens? To fight their own kind?" The Alpha all but demanded unkindly. "I just so happen to be wretched from my home, against my will, all the while this is happening? At what point am I supposed to believe you?"
Growing increasingly frustrated, the Barren Queen stood tall to her mother.
"Point when we ALL die! Alpha…Lost…all. Dead. Empire, Irken kill all! Kill Vylat! Build on our dead!"
Amka's mind thought back to the discussions held by Major General Sko and Marshal Yim. The thoughts on the campaign, how Grimm would likely glass the planet just like Blorch and then drop poison gas on top of the hives to kill everyone with toxic air. Whatever the Barren Queen did to him helped transmit that message. He was an unwitting addition to the conversation and he didn't even know it. Didn't even need to open his mouth.
The silent conversation and subsequent realization from the Alpha Queen served to lower her blades out of immediate threat. They remained unsheathed for the time being. The brewing murmurs among her entourage earned an authoritative shriek to still themselves immediately before looking back to the pair of Irken before her.
"You two claim to conspire against your kin. To rebel. You sought the most willing participant in such a ploy that could conveniently be used to dethrone me at any opportunistic moment. I am aware of your wicked ways and what you bring across the stars. Assume I believe this pile of excrement of a story…I am expected to trust your word? The same word from similar mouths that saw me captured?"
"To go off my word alone would be foolish, it didn't work with her, I wouldn't expect it to work on you. I would back my offer with a gesture of good faith. I offered her Vortian weaponry and said I would deliver, I offer the same to you. Surplus from the recent invasion of force. To show you something more, I wo-"
"General-" Amka spoke up.
"What?" Vaukt glanced over his shoulder at the man.
"I can hear some of the Alpha's royals talking about Mighera."
"The listening post we set up before Impending Doom? Yeah, what about it?"
"It's their territory, sir. It's within Vylatian space…and they know about it."
"Your good faith gesture is to offer me the spoils of another conquest?" The Queen of Queens incredulously queried. "So you may do the same with our wares to the next system you gnats swarm? This empty egg sac's Chosen is correct though…you can make amends by removing yourselves from my territory."
"I sent a missive to Irk about Grimm's incompetence with a high priority recommendation to not invade this planet. It may not reach in time to stop that idiot from launching an attack with the Elites. But I assure you,, I'll have started this rebellion before they get any bright ideas about wanting to come back here. As for Mighera, I'll see what I can do, but the listening post there reported no sentient alien life. I'm now led to believe you want to colonize it, yes?"
"Whether I seek to colonize or not is irrelevant. Little green men will never enter my system again, nor set foot on Vylat." The Alpha made abundantly clear. "Twice I will be rid of you, the third will be the final. Irk will become my personal incubator for my children. This conversation is a testament of my patience and it is very thin."
So much for Vylatian assistance with the resistance. It would have to go on without them. "Very well, the Major and I will leave. I'll do what I can to stop the idiot who tried to take you prisoner in the first place. Even if he's stupid enough to attack in force, we'll make sure he leaves your system."
"No." The Barren Queen defiantly spoke up finally, much to her mother's chagrin. "Make Empire, Irken leave now, Empire, Irken return. Return stronger. Vylat die. Vylat must help Vaukt, General."
The Queen of Queens did not take kindly to such insinuations as she turned her undivided attention to her offspring, physically facing her full-on.
"...are you making demands of me?"
Amka could feel the venom in the air towards the Barren Queen from her mother, but he was powerless to do anything. His position and the General's were precarious at best.
"Not demand. Only truth. Die now to Empire, Irken or die later to Empire, Irken. Help stop Empire, Irken, Vylat live. Empire, Irken die. Irken free. Irken live. Vaukt, General need aid. Vylat aid Vaukt, General kill Empire, Irken."
"She is right…" Vaukt sighed once more, "If my conspiracy gets found out, and I end up dead because of it. They will come back, they will come in force, and they'll be more inclined to turn your entire planet into a graveyard. Even if it kills any knowledge of your Shatterstone with it, they'll do it. Even if it kills a lot of processing drones working with it, they'll still kill every single one of you. They want the Vortians for their minds. They're busy trying to turn the planet into a maximum security science research prison. Vortian kids? I'm already seeing reports from my supporters on that planet of the planet's military commander just putting them against the wall and machine gunning the lot of them."
He paused to shake his head. "They don't care how many it kills, you, us, Vortians, anyone. It's all senseless and I'm just sick of it all. I want it to end, and this is the only life I've ever known. I'm willing to end it even if it means I have no clue what in the fuck to do next. That's why I had the Major come to your daughter. That's why I wanted to meet with you under the circumstances. I want such a force arrayed against this monster that they will fall."
The General's impassioned words brought the Queen of Queens back from the brink of slaying her daughter and them in short order. She turned back to the armored Irken before her, listening intently. Amka felt the words before they were spoken, her antenna slowly shifting, moving.
"...you are desperate and seek a quickened end to your masters." She summarized in observation. "...no matter what it takes. No matter the cost, you truly wish to see your Empire toppled…ironic you speak to the leader of one for aid, is it not?"
"It is, I suppose in this case the fruit doesn't fall too far from the tree if what I was told is true, and that my species came from yours, that some fools would think themselves superior to everyone and then just throw bodies at the problem to solve it." He let out a single laugh, "Quite ironic they assume themselves smarter than their adversary, only to be proven wrong at every turn…you want us gone? Want to be sure we stay gone? Help the resistance out, you'll have your wish. No more Irken in your system ever again. We capture High Command, I'll even let you eat them…or make a brood sac out of them. I don't care which. They'll be yours to do as you see fit."
"Driving your kind from my world is given. What do I gain aiding in this family dispute?" She morbidly pursued, genuinely curious at what Vaukt had to offer. "...I would be lying if I wasn't looking forward to devouring what passes for your command staff responsible for my unwanted exile and incarceration, but a simple meal is temporary. What benefits my people?"
Vaukt gestured to the Barren Queen. "She's different…she runs her Hive differently. The Major can sense it. If you were to use your infertile daughter as some sort of a diplomat to the greater galaxy, it could mean a way to elevate your species beyond what you are now. More technology, galactic trade, the beginning to your own starships even. The long term benefits are quite substantial."
The Alpha Queen's unspoken bristling vitriol set off the Spec Ops Major. She did not take kindly to being dictated on what she could and could not do by the likes of Vaukt. Especially from her supposed inferior in the form of her infertile daughter. Too bad.
"Hold on a fucking second!" Amka yelled from behind Vaukt. "Even if we give you all this, we're not going to just let your species spread across space unchecked! We stopped your last few attempts at coming into Empire space before. Why are we just going to trade an ever expanding empire of Irk for an Empire of Vylat?!"
"Major-"
"General, this needs to be fucking said. She wants to get in on this, she better fucking play nice with the rest of us. She wants us to stay gone, we'll stay gone, but only if she doesn't turn into what we are now. Especially since if we come back it's going to be with a coalition of other species to shove a boot up whatever passes for their ass around here."
Just where did this aggression come from? It wasn't like him. The boiling blood of a long departed Royal Warrior defending his adoptive Queen perhaps? Amka wasn't having any empire swapping, whatever the General's plan was.
Amka's defiance saw the Barren Queen step forward hesitantly. Two of her hands rest on his nearest shoulder. Affirmation. Support. Respect? Her mother's quivering rage narrowly subsided before gesturing to the Major.
"Are you willing to die for him?"
"...Yes. Amka, Major speaks true. Cycle of death. Needs to stop now. Irken stop. Vylatian stop. Stop together. Vylat strong. Vylat healthy. Expand? Necessary? Greedy. Same as Empire, Irken."
Several agonizingly long, tense moments passed before the Alpha Queen…sheathed her swords. A pointed gesture to her offspring sharply snapped.
"Do not make me regret this. Your head will be the first I sever should this come back to be our undoing." She made clear, looking to Vaukt. "...remove yourselves from my home, appoint her as our diplomat, and Vylat will join your cause. His blood bond is sufficient. Mine is unnecessary and I do not lend my clout so freely to outsiders. Confidence in your cause may sway that."
Vaukt dipped his head in appreciation. "Consider it done, thank you."
Amka held up one hand to his antenna and groaned, the other Royals nearby loudly screeching from his thoughts.
"Major, what is it?"
"That idiot Grimm just launched an attack with four hundred thousand Elites. Radio's absolutely furious with him thinking of having all the Troopers executed for standing down."
"Unbelievable. He really is a dense fucking idiot." Vaukt facepalmed and shook his head before looking at the Alpha. "The guy who orchestrated imprisoning you apparently wants to give you dinner now."
"How thoughtful…I will save him for last and savor it." The Alpha commented, looking to her own offspring. "Rally your warriors and join me. Diplomats are leaders. Lead."
The Barren Queen's head dipped with a fluttering of her wings, an order received. To arms it was. Her troops were at the ready and the only order needed was given. A brief series of clicks and chitters saw her own followers take flight and leave the room past their "guests". Her elder and planetary leader turned her attention back to Vaukt and Amka.
"I recommend you two make yourselves extremely scarce. You Irken all look and taste the same. Take to your ship or remain, I care not which, only stay out of our way."
"Major, time to get out of here." Vaukt gestured.
"Right, sir."
The two Irken followed the large assembly of Vylatians of both greater and lesser varieties leaving the hive and heading out to where Grimm intended to make landfall. The shuttle Vaukt arrived in was crushed by a piece of the Tallest Cyur entering the atmosphere. The surviving flight crew, along with Amka and Vaukt, left Vylat behind and made their way back to the General Krad.
Alone in the back, with the door to the cockpit sealed, Amka finally had a chance to speak.
"Boss, what the fuck are you planning? What is all this? Political maneuvering to make yourself the Tallest?"
"It's beyond that."
"How?"
"In a word, revolution. This will end the Empire as it is. No more Tallest, no more Control Brains. We'll be our own men, think for ourselves, determine our own destiny. You've been in this since the first round at Praxxus. You survived that shitshow. You want to keep going as a cog in a machine of never ending conquest?"
Amka sighed. "Fuck no."
"So you want in?"
"Just one question. What are we going to replace the Empire with?"
Vaukt paused, he didn't expect that as a question, the General only shrugged. "In all honesty? I don't know. My idea is a military autocracy. It depends on what the others have in mind though."
"The Vortians?"
"Remember Vort?"
A pause from Amka as he mulled it over before realization hit. "Vult and his team?"
"Bingo. I was hoping you wouldn't take Tuu for a reason but, what's done is done. Keep this under wraps, recruit who you can. We have eyes in the right places who can make sure these subversive conversations get…lost."
"...Understood, boss. You have my loyalty, you've earned it."
Vaukt put a hand on Amka's shoulder as they landed back aboard the ship. Mirage would begin working their way into the rebellion, just as the Shadow Strikers are and as the Scout Snipers are increasingly becoming. Continuing to draw in his most loyal commanders and their subordinates would see most of SpecOps follow him over the Empire. A great boon for when the time came. Critical mass was still a ways off, but this was further good news.
On Vylat below, a Sergeant Major named Spike advanced with the first round of troops. The ground wide open and not a bug in sight. Were they cowardly?
"Advance! Get some troops on the high ground! OP there! OP there!" He signaled to two different positions. Little did he know what was about to befall him and the rest of the Elites Grimm signed the death warrants for. A conventional attack was effectively suicide.
Dropships disengorged their personnel payloads around him across the sand-choked surface of Vylat. Irken Elite by the hundreds stormed once the gates were dropped. A common sight accompanied by Imperial Trooper support in the form of logistics, artillery, armor, and the sort. None of which was available after Marshal Yim's full recall and standby until further notice. The distinct lack of actionable intel from Special Operations impeded progress as well.
Orders were orders and the Empire wanted Vylat. They would have Vylat. A sea of green and magenta spread across the arid landscape, establishing a defensive perimeter around the proposed landing zone. What could pass for one, at least, with their lack of assistance. The first wave of transports successfully delivered their troops and were spaceborn again. An eerie silence overcame the massed troops organizing themselves. Surely the enemy was aware of their arrival by now. The loss of the Armada's First Fleet flagship was no secret. They had to know they were coming if they struck preemptively.
"Sergeant Major, what do we do?" A Lieutenant nearby was asking for direction. He may have been an officer but he was fresh off Devastis.
Spike pointed toward a mound about 500 meters away. "Half a klik out, go have a team recon that."
"Right away. Give me three volunteers!"
Three Elites came up and ran toward the mound. Spike and the Lieutenant watched them through a set of binoculars. They made it to the mound, but that was when the ground all around them started shaking. In the distance, the ground opened up, swallowing the three Irken and a few geysers of blood was evidence enough of what became of them as the shriek of bugs began to fill the air.
"Defensive positions!"
Spike yelled as the multi-legged lesser species of bugs began emerging from the ground below and went on the attack, tearing Elites limb from limb. Combined with the radio traffic from other units, it was apparent they were outnumbered. The Sergeant Major ran back towards one of the dropships, grabbing a radio and sliding to a stop as he keyed the trigger.
"Command, LZ is hot, being swarmed by high numbers of hostiles and our odds of survival are low. Requesting permission to retreat, over."
"Sergeant Major, request is denied. Supreme Commander Grimm wants that ground taken at all costs. You are to hold your positions, over."
"With what, a firm tone?!" He slammed down the set and returned to a secondary defensive line as the first was already being overtaken by the incoming Vylatian swarm. "Hold what you got!"