Welcome back! Previously on…Attack! Imperial forces manage to locate Steamax and using this, they launch an attack against Veterans Alliance's main fleet and Goddesses. Led by Tacoma, one of the four Imperial Knights, Imperials almost succeeded in their goal to recapture the CPUs, but in a sudden surge of Share Energy, Noire transformed into Black Heart and cut down Tacoma and destroyed the enemy flagship. Now, with the VA on their side, Goddesses plan on their next target.

But before that, reviews.

To end5: Thank you, thank you.

Alright, with that out of the way, let us begin anew.

Chapter 12

February 12, 2257 G.C.

21:43

Planeptune, Gamindustri

Being out in the streets at this hour was a huge risk. First, even though police hour started at 22:00, military and police patrols were already in the streets. Soldiers, policemen and Centurions patrolled the streets the whole day, but once the police hour rolled in, they became especially vicious, like bees that got their nest hit. One wrong move and you could be detained under suspicion of terrorism. Even being outside at the time could send someone to jail.

Or worse.

But IF didn't fear the police hour or any patrols. She could always just move through the alleyways or simply across the roofs. And even if she was spotted, she could easily escape. She did it many times.

The reason the leader of F2P was outside at this time was the fact, that one of the organization's contacts made contact with the resistance group. He swore that he had some information, which might be valuable for the resistance not only on the planet, but across the whole system. IF didn't take it all for granted, but anything that could help with bringing down the Empire was useful. Still she was ready for a possible Imperial Intelligence Service's provocation meant to get her out of shadows.

Passing by a four men patrol of soldiers, she smirked. If only they knew who did they just walk past by…

She stood in front of a pub. It was one of the usual meeting spots between her and Freedom-2-People's contacts. Opening the door, she entered an almost empty room. Tables had no people sitting at them, except one, reading a newspaper. Passing by a barman cleaning his glasses, she settled herself opposite to the man sitting at the table.
"I see you've come?"he asked, drinking his tea.
"Any information is worth checking."IF replied, glancing around.

They were the only ones here, not counting the barman. But she still wouldn't be surprised, if a bunch of Imperial Marines, Military Police or Intelligence agents materialized out of nowhere just to catch her.
"So, what do you have?"she asked, leaning in closer."And don't sell me any useless bullshit."She lowered her voice to a whisper."Or I promise, that you will not see the next sunrise."

The man smirked.
"You know me well, commander."he replied."Would I ever lie to you?"
"We are still yet to find out."
He shook his head.
"Have more faith."

"It's kinda hard, especially these days."
"Can't argue here."

A short silence hung in the air between them.
"So?"
He cleared his throat. IF rolled her eyes. This guy was one of their best informants, but he was really annoying sometimes.

"Imps are getting their asses set on fire lately."he finally said.
"What do you mean by that?"leader of F2P asked, tilting her head.
In response, the informant threw the newspaper on the table. IF looked at it and saw a large headline saying 'DANGEROUS CRIMINALS ON THE LOOSE. ALL IMPERIAL SERVICES PUT ON HIGH ALERT'.

"Nothing new here."she stated.
"I think you don't get something."he said, pointing at the word 'ALL'."By all, they mean all. Army, air force, navy, IIS, Bureau of National Security and everything else connected to government operations."

This was actually surprising. IF was aware that Imperial oppression apparatus was strong, but often operated on standard, anti-terrorist operations readiness level. What could put every branch of Imperial services on such a high alert?
"Do you know the reason?"

Informant looked around, to make sure nobody was listening. But the barman already left, so they were sitting alone.
"My buddy that got himself work in Imperial Intelligence Service says, that a bunch of high-priority prisoners managed to escape prison and joined some resistance group that is now wreaking havoc in the system. Allegedly, Keya and her spawn are scared shitless. There are also rumors, that…"

He went silent. IF pounded her fingers on the table, waiting.
"Come on, spit it out."she hurried him.
"There are rumors that Tacoma is dead."

If IF had a drink in her mouth, she would most likely spit it out. Imperial Knights were terrifying killing machines that could plow through an entire regiment of soldiers without as much as feeling tired or getting injured. IF herself heard and witnessed how powerful and terrifying can Hall-A be, as well as other Knights. So how, and most importantly who, was even able to kill them? Is the rumor was true, that is.
"Do you think it's true?"she asked.
"The same buddy told me, that Imps are implementing curfew and information blockade in Lastation. Nobody knows why, but I think the reason is pretty apparent, isn't it? If people learned that the Imperial Knights are, in fact, mortal and can be defeated, there would be riots and chaos on the streets. Maybe even a full on rebellion. And Keya doesn't want that."
"Can't argue with that."IF agreed."But how can you kill an Imperial Knight?"

"I dunno."He picked up the newspaper again."But if I had to guess, there are only several beings powerful enough to go on par with them. Even if the first time wasn't as lucky."

F2P leader frowned as she processed this information. Then, it hit her. She stood up rapidly.
"You can't mean…?"Words couldn't leave her mouth.
Informant just looked at her, smirked, put some money on the counter and left, not uttering another word.

IF watched him go and as per protocol, she waited five minutes before leaving the pub. Next, knowing that it was well past the police hour by the time she left, she quickly went into the nearby alleyway and quickly found a way to climb onto the nearest building. Next, she started running across the roofs, hiding sometimes, when drones or patrolling dropships came by. But years of hiding gave her experience good enough to not be spotted.

All the time she was running towards her organization's hiding spot, thoughts flew around in her head. She constantly returned to the end of her conversation with the informant. She tried to find any holes in what he was saying. Maybe it was actually some kind of Imperial provocation? Maybe he wanted to make fun of her? Or maybe he was…right?

But if that was the case, then that would mean…

"…that Neptune and the others are back."she thought, thinking the exact words that couldn't leave her mouth earlier.

And now, as she was running across the rooftops among the night of the city, Planeptower rising in the distance, as the only building with lights still on, a new feeling appeared in her. A feeling she didn't feel for a long time.
Hope.

February 13

10:03

Unbreakable Ore's HQ

Upon returning to the HQ from the successful mission, Goddesses, Tashima siblings and Hope's crew were greeted as heroes. Steamax was led to the lower parts of the base, where he was placed under constant surveillance. Some people tried to interrogate him, but the Machine Union Chief of Security stayed silent as a grave. So this was put on hold for the moment.

Currently, Artisan, Tiller, Tashima siblings and Goddesses were gathered in the base's command center.

"Well, I again must congratulate your success on this mission."Artisan said."And also, I'd like to now officially welcome miss Yuko Tashima among us."
"Thank you, commander."Yuko said.
"You can just call me Artisan. Everyone does."

"Of course."

Next, commander of UO looked at the Goddesses.
"Our plan seems to work."she said.
"At least with VA."Tashima said."We can't know how other resistance groups will react."

Tiller nodded.
"Agreed. But we have to try."sergeant stated."Speaking of which, how are you, Goddess Noire?"

Everyone looked at Noire, who was already back on her feet after the feat she performed back during the battle.
"I'm better. Although I think I spent too much Share Energy and it will be some time since I recover it."she replied.

"At least now it's easier."Vert said."With Shares coming from Veterans Alliance, our regeneration is faster, but only marginally."
"Always something."Neptune said with a smile."At this pace, we'll be on Gamindustri in no time."

"Still, before we do that, we need to get other groups on our side."Artisan stated.
"So, what are we waiting for?"Blanc asked."Who are we going to get on our side next?"

"Why are you so inpatient?"Vert asked.

"Because I want to get to Nintendus and finally beat this Arbore into non-existence!"Lowee's CPU exclaimed.

Everyone laughed.
"Don't worry. We'll get there. For now, let's focus on our next target."Tiller said.

Right then, the insignia of another resistance group appeared. It presented a spiral in a hexagon.

"Technocrats."Tashima said.

Artisan and Tiller nodded.
"Technocrats are our second group of interest."Artisan said."They are masters of electronic warfare. They are made up of not only humans, but also machines that refused to ally with Imperials."
"So, why did you chose these ones next?"Neptune asked.

Two commanders shrugged.
"It's simple."Tiller replied."Freedom-2-People operates only on Gamindustri, so we can't reach them yet. Anonimals are so secretive, that some people even doubt their existence. And Technocrats are like VA. They also have a fleet of EW ships which moves around the system constantly. Buuut, it's not as hard to find them as it is with Veterans Alliance. At least for us."

"Really?"Noire asked, rising an eyebrow.

Tiller pressed some buttons on the table and a holographic map of the system appeared. Also, on it, several blue lines could be seen in several areas. Goddesses looked at them, understanding, that they were the points of interests.
"You see the blue lines?"Artisan asked.
"Yup."Neptune replied."There's some of them."
"These lines are the last known trajectories of Technocrats EW ships."

The four looked at the UO leadership.

"How were you able to determine that?"Blanc asked.
"It's simple."Artisan said."EW ships that belonged to navies of pre-Day nations had a tendency to leave a pretty characteristic trace of ionized energy. If you know what you're looking for, it's pretty easy to track them down."

Goddesses and Tashimas looked at the blue lines.
"So what? We just pick a random ship and go to it, strike a convo with Technocrats and done?"Neptune asked.
"If only it was that easy…"Tiller said.
"What do you mean, sir?"Tashima asked.

"Technocrats are pretty…hard to work with."Artisan said."As you know, they are a collective of humans and machines that refused to cooperate with Affimojas and the Empire. They also believe in transhumanism."
"What?"Neptune asked, tilting her head.

Blanc cleared her throat.
"Transhumanism: shares many elements of humanism, including a respect for reason and science, a commitment to progress, and a valuing of human, or transhuman, existence in this life."she explained.

"Thank you, walking encyclopedia."Vert said, crossing her arms.
"You're welcome, milk bags."Blanc replied.

Vert only smirked.
"And I'm proud of it."
"Maybe better start arguing about that after we're done with AFTER we take care of Technocrats?"Tiller proposed.

The two Goddesses looked at each other and nodded.

"So, basically"Neptune said, rubbing her temples"they are cyborgs."

Blanc wanted to say something, but ultimately nodded.
"Pretty much."she admitted.
"Sweet."Planeptune's CPU said, smiling.

"We'll see. For now, we have to make contact with them."Artisan said.
"How do we do that?"Noire asked.
"The best option would be just to try and find some of their operatives on one of colonies, like we did with VA."Tiller said, pointing at Yuko.

"But where can we find one?"

Artisan looked at the sergeant?
"Where does the main area of operations of Technocrats lays?"she asked.

Tiller manipulated some buttons at the holo-table's panel and a number of moons and planets were highlighted.
"They mostly operate all across the system, but their main area of operations is near former Leanbox colonies near Haloen."sergeant explained."That's where most of their cyber attacks took place. So I guess we should start there."

Vert looked at the former territories controlled by her and nodded.
"Sounds good to me."she said."I would like to see what did Imperials do to my properties."

"I bet."Blanc said."After all, I know you have some number of summer houses there. Although I still wonder, why would anyone want to buy a summer house and place it underground?"

Vert shrugged.

"It's an interesting location."she replied.
"Whatever…"Blanc looked at the ceiling.

Artisan nodded.
"Alright then. I guess there's another mission on your hands."she stated."Tash?"
"I know, I know."Tashima replied."We'll take care of this."

"Knew we can count on you, corporal."Tiller said, crossing his arms."You will go to Haloen and find someone from the Technocrats. When you do, try finding a way to getting them on our side. Who knows, maybe it will be easier than we anticipate?"

"We can only hope."Artisan said."So, go and get ready."

Tashimas saluted and went out of the command center, followed by Goddesses. Once they were outside, Noire frowned.

"So, how do we find anyone from the Technocrats in Haloen Cluster?"she asked.
"Well…"Yuko said."I can help with that."

Everyone looked at Tashima's sister.
"On Everquis, except of being VA's main contact with other cells, I also took care of information gathering. Once we get to the Haloen Cluster, you can count on me."

"Good to have you on our side then, YK."Neptune said with a wide smile.
Yuko risen an eyebrow.
"What kind of nickname is that?"she asked.
"Oh, come on, don't tell me you don't like it?"

Tashima's sister thought for a moment, before nodding.
"Actually, it does have a ring to it."she said with a smile."Okay, let's stay with it."

With that, the Tashima siblings walked away, while Goddesses looked at Neptune.
"Where did that come from?"Noire asked.

"What?"Neptune asked back.
"That sudden nickname for Yuko."Blanc said."I know that it reminds me of someone…"

Neptune sighed.
"Okay, you got me."she said."You know that I miss IF, Compa, Nepgear…So this is kind of my coping mechanism."

Goddesses looked at each other and sighed.
"Yeah, I guess it works."Vert admitted.
"Let's go now. We have another resistance cell to bring to our side."Neptune said and followed the siblings.

Soon, other Goddesses followed them.

February 13

11:31

Infinitus, Haloen Cluster

Night has already fallen over the biggest moon of Haloen. The whole day-night cycle of the moon lasted only six hours, which was the shortest in the whole Gamindustrian System. Scientists pondered for years why and how did the moon pick so much speed and why didn't it shot out into space yet. Nevertheless, it was the first and biggest Leanboxian colony in Gamindustrian System, as well as very important commerce and trading center. Numerous ships visited the spaceports of the capital on their way to other planets and moons. It was not a mystery that Leanbox held a complete monopoly over the trade routes in this sector and around it.

Now, due to Imperial occupation, the taxes and fees were not as severe for the passing ships. Still, it was a very important place that served as the main point of transit between inner and outer planets of the system.

EVEa stood in front of the window of the Stellaron Tower, the tallest building in the city. From it, she could get a perfect view of the city below and the great dome that covered it. Due to the lack of atmosphere on large majority of Haloen's moons, Leanboxian engineers simply had to make domed cities that could easily withstand the environment. And, truth be told, she was actually impressed with ingenuity of Gamindustrians. They knew how to make a good looking and operational artificial habitat.

Looking down at the white-green buildings of the city, she had to also admit, that Leanboxian architecture seemed far more advanced than other nations of the system. Actually everything made by Leanbox seemed super high-tech compared to others. How did Leanbox fail to become the dominant power of the system before the Empire came and this title fell on Lastation, she had no idea.

EVEa always liked to learn about history and other cultures. She always thought, that by doing so, the Empire would be easier to govern and become a better place for everyone. Unfortunately, before she could even implement the things she came up with, their whole world was changed.

"No reason to dwell on it."she thought."Mother sent me here with a mission. I better focus on it."

Saying that, she turned around and came up to the desk standing in the office. She sat down and pressed the button. Soon, a holographic window appeared in the air and a face of a Marines soldier appeared on it.

"Colonel."EVEa said."How is your operation going?"

"Everything according to plan."colonel replied."We stormed the building and took the insurectionists captive. Although not all of them. Most resisted and we had to take them out."

Imperial Knight nodded.
"Understood. Did any of them already spill the beans?"

Colonel nodded.
"One, the weakest link. He said something before being silenced by his buddies."

"What did he say?"
"Only one word: Sanghill."

Sanghill. Second biggest moon of Haloen. One of the first to be colonized by Leanbox.

"Understood. Send someone there and inform local authorities. We've gonna take care of this."
"Yes, my lady. Imperium Invicta."Colonel saluted and ended the call.
"Imperium Invicta."EVEa whispered.

Imperial motto. Some said it dated back to prehistory of the Empire, while others said, that it was relatively new. None knew the truth, as it was long lost to history.

The reason EVEa was here was simple. Following the events that transpired near Sonius, Empire put the anti-terrorist machine into full swing. Now that Goddesses were on the loose, they couldn't just let them be. While Veterans Alliance currently stayed out of their range, F2P seemed to be like a hydra and just didn't want to die, no matter how many cells you destroyed, Anonimals were basically like a fever dream and seemed like nobody even believed in their existence, that's how secretive and elusive they were, Keya decided to go after the resistance cell that was currently in their reach.

The Technocrats.

While not as powerful as Veterans or annoying as F2P or Anonimals, they were still a threat. Being made up of machines and humans, they could try and use the current situation to their advantage. Following the demise of Tacoma and Affimojas, Machine Union fell into chaos. Riots and street battles started between ruling machines and ruled humans. Blood was spilled and even Imperial forces stationed in the area could not do anything to stop it. It was a perfect opportunity for an organization that basically promoted human-machine friendship to step in and take over and at least try to settle things up.

This is why they had to be destroyed. With them in charge, the Empire would have to face an army of machines and humans. Even though Machine Union was a vassal to the Empire, they had military power that could rival them pretty easily. It was a bit spread out, but with hyperdrives, they could easily concentrate it.

And using hyperdrives en masse was the last thing they wanted. They already risked too many times.

And they didn't want to deal with Them again.

Just thinking about it made EVEa shiver. They've been through so much already and fighting with Them was the last thing she wanted.
"Let's better take care of this quickly."she thought.

February 14

09:01

Sanghill, Haloen Cluster

Surprisingly, there was no any big problems with the customs as everyone aboard Beacon of Hope expected. They were asked about their identity, their cargo and after that, they were allowed to land in Sanghill's capital city. The ship reached the surface and touched down in the underground hangar.

"That went super smooth."Neptune stated.
"Don't jinx it."Noire said.

They were currently standing at the airlock of the ship, preparing to leave. Once more, they took their fake identities like they did on Everques. They were gonna go into the city, book a place in the hotel and start searching for anyone from the Technocrats.

"I agree with Neptune."Vert said."You would think they would know about our ship after the mess we did on Everques."

"Seems like news actually spread really slowly, huh."Yuko said.

The door of the airlock opened and the group walked down the gangplank. Outside, they were met by a pair of Imperial customs officials.
"Are you transporting any illegal cargo?"one of them asked."What is the purpose of this visit? How long will you stay?"
"Nothing illegal to see, sir."Tashima replied."We're here just to take some rest before departing further. And the stay is indefinite."
The second official wrote everything down in his datapad.

"Please, give me your IDs now."
"Right-o, sir."

The six of them handed their fake IDs to the customs official. He looked at them and showed them to the second, who wrote everything down.

"Everything's fine."first official said."Welcome to Sanghill. Enjoy your stay."
"We will, thanks."Tashima said, taking back their IDs.

With that, their group left the hangar.

Unaware, that two hooded figures followed behind them.

February 14

10:47

Bldris Fair Hotel, Sanghill

Finding a hotel in an underground city turned out to be harder than one could expect. Many of the buildings were mostly used by local populace as a place to live, while others were used by Imperial institutions or other services. Apparently, many institutions and services the Empire deemed as 'non-essential to state functioning' were closed down in frontier colonies and taken over by Imperial administration and turned into something else. The fact that they found any hotel at all could be considered either lucky or a miracle.

Currently, the six of them were sitting in the room Tashima took for them. They were discussing their next moves.
"So. Now what?"Neptune asked, sitting at the in-room desk, her legs on the top of of it.
"Now we need to figure out where are the Technocrats hiding."Tashima said."Which may not be easy."
"Or easy. Aren't they cyborgs?"Vert asked.
"That's not what transhumanism really is."Blanc pointed out."It would be easier to just search for machines that are not in Machine Union. Then it may mean that we're close to the Technocrats."

Everyone nodded.
"Either way, we need to make contact with them."Noire said."Yuko, you said you can take care of that?"

Tashima's sister nodded with a confident smile on her face.
"Sure."she said."I can go around and ask whoever and whatever. I just have to be careful and know where to look."
"Do just that, sis."Tashima said."But at the first sight of danger, come back here or to Hope. Also, keep in touch."

Yuko nodded and made her way to the door, upon which she left the room.

"And what do we do in the meantime?"Neptune asked.
"For now, we wait."Tashima said and sighed."If Yuko contacts us and informs us of danger, we make a run for it."
"Got it."the Goddesses replied.

Corporal looked at the hotel room door again.
"Just be careful out there, sis."he thought.

At the same time, Yuko walked down the stairs to the hotel lobby. She nodded towards the receptionist and quickly made her way outside of the building. The hotel was a two floor building, large enough to almost reach the ceiling above their heads. Most buildings were relatively small in the underground colonies. And the reason such colonies were even built was because most of the moons didn't have any atmosphere. And if there was any, it was not enough to support life. This is why on moons like these, cities were built under large domes. Leanbox especially prouded itself in their domed cities on Infinitus.

Quickly glancing around, she turned left and walked. Again, unaware of two hooded figures following her.

February 14

11:04

Warehouses to the East of the city

Inside of the Venkr armored personnel carrier was pretty cramped. Captain Resin Aster, officer in the Imperial Marine Corps, sat in the troop compartment of the vehicle, observing the rest of their squad. This was their first mission, as most of them barely came out of the boot. Anti-terrorist operation was certainly good for them. Not an actual battle, but still enough to be baptized by fire.

Captain was a bit of an oddity among the Imperial soldiers, in that he was one of only few native Gamindustrians, who actually joined up with Imperials, but not because he supported the Imperial government, but because he wanted to assure a good living for his family. Unfortunately, it came at a cost of being marked the enemy of the Gamindustrian people by basically everyone in their neighborhood. It wasn't a surprise anymore when upon returning home for a leave, he found some slurs and other things pained on the walls. But he learned to live with it, same as his wife and kid.

For now, it was better that he focused on his mission. And the goal of this mission was to eliminate and, if possible, gather some intel on the Technocrats on the moon. Apparently, HQ had some leads on where their HQ was supposed to be.

"Okay, people."captain said."Let's go over this thing one more time."

Pressing some things on his hand terminal, a hologram of a warehouse appeared in the air before the troops.
"Apparently, the Technocrats cell we're supposed to hunt down is hiding in this warehouse at the edge of warehouse area. Some weird people and machines have been seen going in and out of it. Some of of our scouts managed to confirm that some of these people have cybernetic enhancements. One of the hallmarks of the Technocrats."

Marines looked at the hologram.
"How many enemies can we expect in there, sir?"one of the Marines asked.
Aster looked at the kid. He could be just barely older than 16.

"We don't know. As much as we don't know, what they have at their disposal."captain replied."So be ready for everything."

"Sir, yes, sir."Marines replied.
"Okay, people."Voice of the major in charge of this operation was heard in captain's comms."We're nearing the target. Get ready for some action."
"Copy that."all squad leaders, including Aster, said."Okay guys. We're about to get there."

Marines quickly started performing one last check up on their gear before the three APCs, each carrying ten soldiers, stopped right out of sight from the target warehouse. The back doors opened and soldiers started quickly pouring out onto the concreted ground, the ceiling of the planet's surface high above their heads. He knew most people would freak out after staying underground for too long, but one gets pretty used to this after living there for so long, like he did.
"Everyone, follow captain Kilt's orders."major ordered."He's my second-in-command for this mission."

Everyone looked at Kilt, who stood there, a shit-eating smirk on his face. Everyone knew him very well. A complete bastard and one of major's closest co-workers. Or rather, he was his son-in-law, which he became after he banged his daughter on a party once. She got pregnant and this forced Kilt to marry her. Everyone knew he was beating her and almost senseless, but major didn't oppose this. After all, he believed that this will teach his daughter to NOT bang random strangers on a party.

Aster murmured something under his breath. He and Kilt were in basic together. Always at odds and he was sure, that this time, it will be no different.
"You heard the man."Kilt said."Everyone, spread out. Estro, you go through the back. Aster, you flank from the side. I will go from the front. Understood?"
"Sir, yes, sir."all Marines replied.
"Alright, let's go."

Three squads of Marines quickly went to work, moving through the pathways between other warehouses, staying out of sight. If the enemy had any lookouts placed near the warehouse, they couldn't let them to spot them.

Marines led by Aster quickly made their way to their designated waypoint and quickly came up to the side wall of the building.

"Place the charges."Aster ordered.

Some of his Marines reached into their backpacks and pulled out a pair of breaching charges. They quickly placed them on the wall. Next, they quickly entered the arming code and the charges were ready to be blown up. Next, the two quickly returned to their places, with detonators in hands.

"This is Aster, at place, ready to breach."
"This is Estro, ready."
"Understood."Kilt replied."On my mark, we're breaching."

Aster held his breath.

"3…2…1…"Kilt said."Now!"

Marines pressed detonators and the breaching charges were set off, basically melting through the steel walls of the building. Judging from the screaming in the comms, other teams also went into action and were now running into the warehouse. Aster was in front of his squad as they breached inside.

Once they got in, they were met with numerous shocked looks given to numerous people and machines in the warehouse. They didn't even wait before opening fire putting down many of them. Marines fired in all directions, not allowing the Technocrats in the warehouse to answer this. However, many still tried, grabbing the weapons that were neatly stacked somewhere in the far corner of the building. They quickly started shooting back at the Marines, but less successfully than Imperial Marines.

As the Technocrats were being eliminated on mass, Aster looked around, trying to find anyone who looked like they were in charge. However, his efforts were stopped when they all heard sudden moving of servo motors.
"What the hell is that?!"one of Aster's troops asked, screaming through the firefight.

Before captain could reply, a pile of scrap placed under the opposite wall exploded when a two-legged mech jumped out of it and started firing at Imperial soldiers, causing them to panic and quickly start falling back. Mech fired two machine guns mounted on it's arms, mowing down a dozen or so of Imperial Marines.
"What the hell?!"Estro shouted in the radio."That wasn't in the plan!"
"That changes nothing!"Kilt replied."Continue with the mission!"
"But that thing will destroy us!"Estro shouted back.
"Don't worry, we have cavalry!"

As the mech continued to fire and tried to push back the Marines, three APCs the tore down the remains of the gate through which Kilt's squad went through and their turrets turned towards the mech and opened fire. Once their plasma collided with it, the machine staggered backwards, but it quickly regained it's footing. Next, a hatch opened in the mech's chest and two missiles shot out, destroying two out of three APCs.

"Fuck!"major exclaimed."Okay, this is how you wanna play?!"

Before long, his APC was driving full on throttle towards the machine, running over some unlucky Technocrats that happened to find themselves under the wheels. APC rammed into the mech and made it fall over.

As it did, Aster noticed a gap in the machine's armor. He quickly looked at his squad mates.

"Give me some grenades."he ordered.

Marines complied without asking, taking out their grenades and handing them over to the captain. Once he grabbed them, without saying anything, he rushed over towards the still laying mech that tried to get up. He pulled out all the cotters from the grenades he held and shoved them into the gap in the armor he noticed. Then, he quickly jumped away from it, as the machine started standing up.

However, before it could stand up fully, the grenades exploded, destroying numerous internal parts. Not only that, but the explosion also tore the thing in half in the middle. Both halves fell to the ground, not moving.

For a moment, there was an absolute silence. And this absolute silence was ended, when Imperial Marines quickly came to and restarted their operation. Marines quickly swept across the building and took care of every remaining Technocrat. Machines, humans and cyborgs gathered were unable to stop the tide without their machine. After a few minutes, enemy commander was captured and it was all over.

Aster stood up from the ground and approached his squad.
"Are you alright, sir?"one of his subordinates asked.
"Been worse…"Aster admitted.

He then heard steps behind him. Turning around, he saw Kilt approaching him quickly with some of his soldiers in tow.

"Sir, what…?"

Before Aster could say anything more, Kilt's fist slammed into his jaw, sending the captain staggering backwards, but he stayed on his feet. Everyone widened their eyes, as this situation and action was so unexpected.

"What the hell, Kilt?!"Aster exclaimed.

"What was that just now?! I didn't authorize this!"Kilt exclaimed.
Aster growled.
"If nobody did anything, then that robot would simply evaporate us! And nothing else seemed to work!"he exclaimed.
"Still, you acted without authorization from your superior! That could cost us victory!"
"Doing nothing would cost us victory as well!"
"Silence!"

The two captains stopped arguing and looked towards the origin of the voice and saw the major approaching them. He walked over the body of deceased Technocrat and stood in front of them.

"Captain Aster, I'm impressed by your bravery and ingenuity…"major said, looking at the captain.

Aster winced, feeling the approaching 'but'.

"…but captain Kilt is right."he finally said."Each action should be authorized by the one who's higher in the chain of command. And for this mission, captain Kilt was your commander. Acting without his permission is against military protocol."
"Sir, I…"Aster tried to argue, but major raised his hand.

"Silence. We'll discuss it at base."he said, turned and waled away.

Aster watched the major leave and then looked at Kilt. The other captain looked at him with a mischievous smile and followed his father-in-law. Estro came up to Aster and patted his arm.
"Sorry, bud."he said.
"It's okay."Aster said."I should see it coming."

"Don't worry, sir."one of his subordinates said."We're with you."

"Thanks."

With that, him and his Marines went on to gather the prisoners and leave.

February 14

12:56

Somewhere in the city, Sanghill, Haloen Cluster

Yuko walked down the boulevard of the city, passing by the crowds of people and observing how everyone was doing. As she did, she noticed the same trend as on Everques. Among the typical, Gamindustrian clothing, she could see numerous people wearing typical, Imperial bodysuits worn by civilian population. This way, the Imperial citizens differed themselves from the 'lesser' native Gamindustrians. It was something that seemed to happen all across the occupied system. Still, this begged a certain question.

Why would the Imperials bring so many people with themselves alongside the invasion fleet? It was not uncommon to see conquering states replace locals or even integrate them, but even if the replacement of population happened, it would take years, decades or maybe even centuries. Meanwhile, according to data gathered by Veterans Alliance, Imperials somehow managed to bring a population of nearly fifteen million people on their ships. Which in comparison with pre-war population of Gamindustri, which was two billion, was not much, but still it was a large number. Too large to bring nearly halfway through galaxy only to use them as settlers. Something weird was going on, but nobody could figure out what.

But this wasn't what Yuko was supposed to figure out. She had to figure out where to find the Technocrats. Until now, she had no luck and anyone she asked looked at her like crazy. Not only that, but some seemed as if they were going to report her to the authorities without thinking much. So she just left as fast as possible. She didn't want to fall into Imperial hands and then cause the others to come to save her and cause ruckus. That was the last thing she wanted.

So after a few failed attempts, she was just wandering through the streets, thinking what would she say to the others. Yuko really didn't want to fail their expectations. If that happened, she doubted they would ever trust her with anything else.
"Eh, why does it have to be so hard?"she asked herself.

As she walked though, she didn't spot two figures standing in the remote alley she was just walking past. Only time she realized the two stood there, was when they grabbed her and pulled her in even though she struggled.

XXX

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