Chapter 41: "Priority: Annexing"
-World building fact-
As mentioned before, the UNE military relies on technology to make up for their lack of numbers compare to other nations in the galaxy. Most notable is the Hellhound Legion on the ground and Black Arrows in space. Both were used to a deadly and devastating effect during the Second Intergalactic War against the Marikarian Empire.
Each Hellhound Legion consists of 10 thousand SAT8s. Multiple legions can be deployed at the same time along with human soldiers and manned vehicles, or by themselves. Unlike Hollywood movies, where combat robots often charge blindly at the enemy, the SAT8s use their agility to take cover and engage the enemy at range with their powerful armament. When deployed along with human troops, the supporting firepower of Lancer tanks and IFVs greatly enhances their combat effectiveness as well as their devastation, while the APCs provide electronic warfare defense. In many cases, Hellhound Legion with the support of combined human forces beat back reaper ground forces which no other military could do. Because of the high collateral damage caused by Hellhound Legion, they're often only deployed when collaterals are not a concern.
In space, Black Arrows are the fighter drones that supplement the SF-40s. Like the name, the drone has the shape of an arrowhead. They are smaller than SF-40s due to the lack of a cockpit and life support system but carry more firepower. In combat, each SF-40 has a wing of 6 Black Arrows as support.
The story of commander Ava Bennett of the 5th SIF single handedly destroying hundreds of Reaper warships in seconds, a feat that even an entire Terra Fleet could achieve, has been making headlines on all media channels across the galaxy on both UNE and allies news. All most everyone is talking about it, a rare victory against the reapers made possible by the courage of a single human. Ava become the hero and the beacon of hope for the troops on the frontline. For some aliens, Ava became an icon of their faith. Depend on the culture and religion of the alien species, Ava is a messenger, an angel or a protector that whatever higher being that they're worshiping sent to help them.
In front of the Ellie Fleet Medical Center is a pedestal of The Caduceus. At its base, thousands of flowers were placed there by the people in the hope and thanks for commander Ava's recovery. Earth's ancient religions are still existing within the UNE population but with a significantly smaller ratio than in the 21st century. Many have come and pray for Ava with candles and incense, at some point, the police had to try to convince the crowd to disperse.
On the Federation's front, the UNE has been sending more fleets to reinforce the Federation as more and more are enlisting to fight and the Foreign Legion is growing fast. Federation's ship designs were reworked by UNE's engineer for better performance, ship hull and armor are no longer made of plates but instead printed out as a seamless block to provide better integrity, similar to how UNE ships are built. As the result, the weaker reaper forces on that front are stopped dead on their track. However, intel report that the reapers are also reinforcing the frontline so it is only a matter of time before they resume advancing.
Things are a lot direr on the Citadel Council's front, they have lost more than 50 percent of space and the reapers are showing no sign of slowing down. Many of the council's special force units as well as SIF units have been trying to replicate what commander Ava did during the battle of Auraelm but all ended up in failure and total loss of the unit. Terra Sphere realized that the reapers have learned from their mistake and it would be a waste of resources to continue future attempts, thus, they forbid all future similar actions and advice the citadel council to do the same.
The Citadel Council's military admires the effectiveness of the UNE's Hellhound Legion and has been developing its own version of the SAT8. Project Prima has successfully created the first prototype, Prima1, using the same model as the SAT8 but with less defensive power and firepower. The difference is that the Prima1 consists of 1x1cm blocks instead of nanites like the SAT8 and they need to be charged frequently rather than having an almost indefinite internal power source like the SAT8 nanites. However, the AI they use is inadequate to control thousands or hundreds of thousands of combat robots on the rapidly changing battlefield. In addition, their OS can be easily hacked which makes them extremely vulnerable against the reapers. Despite the warning of the UNE, the council still authorized the launch of Prima1 against the reapers in the Bulwark system and, as the result, the reapers compromise the OS and turned Prima1 to their side.
600 thousand Prima1 all became aggressive toward friendly units within minutes of their deployment and start to overrun all defensive positions. They started to kill civilians and soldiers for biomass to be stored and use as bioenergy. As one of their functions, Prima1 quickly replicate using any metal sources they could find and spread to other worlds and systems with the help of the reapers. When confronted by the UNE, the Citadel Council blame UNE forces for not helping them defend the system which resulted in this desperate action. Earlier, Terra Sphere recognized Bulwark system holds no strategic advantage and refused to waste resources on defending it despite the council insisted that the system is an "important symbol". Regardless of the reason, the release of Prima1 swarm put the UNE in Sat Clostridium condition. It's a protocol that put in place to combat rogue self-replicating AI bots.
-Rondel, Falmart-
It has been 3 days since the trial began, after Zoral pledged guilty, Pina had no reason to remain on Earth so she decided to return to Falmart. The more pressing matter for her to worry about now is trying to prevent the UNE to annex Rondel. If that happens, the Empire will lose its only source of means to even stand a chance against the UNE. Not that it would matter much, but it's better than nothing. She is now in Rondel herself because Diabo advised that it would make the empire desire to work with Rondel more genuine if the empress is present.
Rondel is an independent city that has been relying on the Empire for funding, trade and protection. Therefore, the empire has no authority over the decision of the Rondel Council. However, being the most powerful entity on Falmart, the empire was able to use its influence to pull the string and sway things to its liking. Now with the UNE presence on the continent, that is not the case anymore. Pina's government has been trying to walk very hard to prevent the UNE from annexing Rondel via diplomatic channels.
The 5th SIF was sent to Rondel to participate in a friendly sports tournament while waiting for Ava to be released from the pod. They were the first to make contact with the city, Earth wants them there to help increase the bond between the city and the UNE. As a courtesy, the Imperial Army was also invited to take part in the tournament. For the public, it's a rare special entertaining event, but for the political circle, it's a chance to get what they want.
"Your men did well out there, centurion" Grey says as he approaching the centurion and his men resting.
The centurion is a primus pilus, the commander of the first cohort and the most senior centurion within the legion. Grey instructed the primus pilus to picked 20 best men, not counting himself, from the first cohort of the Legio X Sadera for this tournament. This is one of the very few veteran legions that directly fought against the UNE and survived the war, albeit just barely.
The men immediately snap to attention "Thank you, supreme general, but the UNE soldiers are insulting us" the centurion replies, slightly angry in his tone, but his eyes are still looking down.
"Oh? How so" Grey replies "at ease, men"
The centurion looks at his men and note, telling them that they can sit back down then continues talking to Grey "We were there in the battle of Sadera, we saw what they're capable of. Even against an army of the dead, their discipline, skill and organization were top note even comparing to the Imperial Army. Those were the regulars of their military, but these are supposed to be the best of them and they're not showing any of that, supreme general".
"Interesting, is that true, Grey? You fought alongside them, right?" Diabo approaches from behind.
Both Grey and the centurion bow to him, Grey replies "It is true, these men and women are the members of the 5th SIF. They're the best of the best and heroes of the UNE, they could easily beat us in any competition if they want".
"Hmmm" Diabo mumbles "this could be useful".
"What do you have in mind, prince Diabo?" Grey asks.
"None of your concerns, I'll leave you both to it, there are matters for me to tend to" Diabo replies then walks away.
"What do you think of that?" The centurion asks.
Grey looks at him in the eyes "You heard him, none of our concerns, go prepare for the next round" he says as the centurion bow and return to his men.
Politics is not something Grey is interested in, but he knows Diabo is a cunning man. Whatever idea Diabo came up with, honor would not be his first concern.
-Station 444, Location Classified, UNE space-
Commander Ava woke up in the morning of the 3rd day after her pod turned green. The first sentence she said when she got out of the pod was "they know". Immediately after, ISOC briefed her on what she knows when her mind was in the Reapers' system at Station 444. The briefing is classified as Ghost File, which is above top secret, meaning the details are handwritten and stored in a secured location.
Joint Chief King is sitting on a sofa across the coffee table from Ava "Are you sure they know about Excalibur?" he asks again.
"Affirmative, sir, they do not know its exact location but they know it exists and will do everything they can to stop it" Ava replies.
"This Organic form 309, do you know who?" King asks.
"Negative, sir" Ava replies, she can see King is thinking about something "You do, sir?" she asks.
"We have a theory" he replies then press send a text message on his phone.
They sit in quiet for very short moment then someone knocks on the door. The door gives away a soft click as it opens and Viktor walks in. Bandages on his face, left arm and leg, he looks like a man who just went through a lot. He walks towards Ava's sofa and sit next at the other end of it.
"Joint chief" he nods at King then nods at Ava "commander" he greets then sit down.
"Agent Viktor Volkov this is commander Ava Bennett, which you've already known, her intel most likely confirmed your theory" King says.
"Viktor? What happened?" Ava asks.
"It's René" Viktor replies.
"What do you mean? What about him?" Ava is confused.
Joint chief Kings activates the holographic screen with his phone as the light dime out "5 months ago the GIA dispatched agent Viktor and his team of agents to the Citadel Council's space on 2 Phantom class destroyers, and accompanied by the 9th SIF from ISOC. Their mission was to investigate and take down the Salvationist terrorist organization" King continues speaking as the screen display relevant information.
"Because of the sensitive nature of our diplomatic relationship with the council, the mission was top secret and agent Viktor was given the freedom to do what he deemed necessary so radio silence could be maintained. That was until 2 days before the battle of Aurealm" King says.
"We followed any little clues, any rumors, acquired alien assets and raided safe houses for any information we could get our hand on. However, for all our efforts, we only managed to get the very tip of the iceberg. Until a month ago, one of our informants provided us the intel of the location where a high-ranking Salvationist meeting would take place. It was the biggest piece of intel up to that point, so we followed it" Viktor continues the story.
"It did seem too good to be true and we've been making a lot of noise so there was a good chance they knew we were onto them and set a trap. My agents started investigating into the intel, everything seemed legit so we proceeded to conduct reconnaissance at the location. It was perfect for a secret meeting. Everything checked out so we came up with a plan to ambush the meeting and, potentially, capture a high-ranking terrorist" he says.
The holographic display the map of the site and their plan of ambushing the meeting.
Ava looks at the map for a brief moment then comments "Something when wrong didn't it?".
"Not just something, everything when wrong, commander. They somehow knew about our plan as all units were attacked before the ambush even started. Almost everyone died in the first 20 minutes, those that survive tried to link up. Commander René took over and set a rendezvous at the edge of the city. However, just as I got to the location, I saw commander René executed an agent so I hid and tried to contact the fleet but nothing. Later I found out that they too got destroyed by a suicidal fleet of the Salvationist" Viktor continues as the holographic turn into a screen and display all the bodycam of everyone involved in the operation. It was sudden, brutal and deadly, the UNE agents and SIFs managed to kill many hostiles but they got overwhelmed quickly.
"The feeds cut at the same time, except yours and a few others" Ava says.
"That's when the fleet was destroyed, only me a few other agents that survived and returned to have our bodycam footage uploaded" Viktor explains.
"So, René was indoctrinated, how?" Ava asks after a few seconds of thinking.
"We do not know yet. Our priority now is to find him and retrieve or eliminate him. As a SIF, commander René knows many of our top secrets which make him a major security breach" King says.
"Do we have his possible locations, sir?" Ava asks, thinking that if it comes down to it, it's better her that will be going after René than anyone else.
"I know you want to take this mission, commander, considering your close relationship with commander René. You will when agent Viktor and his team has successfully tracked him down. For now, the UNE needs you on a far more important task. Your order is to leave for Falmart immediately, general Nguyen is going to brief you the mission. Your unit is already there, dismiss" King says.
Ava stands up and salute joint chief King then nods at Viktor and then leaves the room.
-Empress Pina's room, Rondel Inn, Rondel-
Pina is sitting across the table from Diabo in the large, fancy decorated room reserved only for the Empire's royalty. They're discussing their situation regarding the negotiation to keep Rondel neutral or become part of the Empire. While 2 out of the 3 members of the council are leaning more towards aligning with the UNE, they also need 80% approval rate from the guilds for a decision this big. There are 9 guilds, the guild of knowledge, the guild of academic, the guild of healing, the guild of nature, the guild of war mages, the guild of fire, the guild of water, the guild of earth and the guild of air. Each of the council member has 1 vote as well as the leaders of these guilds. In order for the decision to join UNE to pass, they need to have 10 votes out of 12.
"The UNE has so much to offer, brother, how can we even compete with them?" Pina says as she is staring at her tea.
Diabo finishes chewing and swallowing a piece of apple then replies "we have the people and home-field advantage, young sister". He only need to address Pina's empress title in formal occasion, in private Pina allows him to address her like he has always did.
"What do you mean by that?" Pina asks.
"You see, most people here have only heard about the war with the UNE without actually fighting in it. Without seeing, they don't know what the UNE is actually capable of. Therefore, as far as they know the UNE is just another faction trying to get a hand on their wealth of magic. In contrast, the Empire has been a trustworthy benefactor for a thousand years. Why would they trust another faction that they barely know?" Diabo replies then takes another bite of the apple.
"Still, is it enough? Given time the UNE can prove themselves better than us" Pina replies.
"Ahh, yes, but the UNE doesn't know the culture of these people and this city. For trying to be polite, they might…accidentally…insult the people here" Diabo says, he looks at Pina and continues before Pina could ask "For over a thousand years, these people are proud and believe they're superior to the rest of Falmart. It's a long tradition of being the wisest, richest and most powerful city. To hold back in dealing with the people of Rondel is a great insult to their dignity and ego because you only hold back for someone when you believe you're better than them. That is exactly what the UNE has been doing either in knowledge exchange as well as this sport event. The people won't stand for it and the proud leaders of the guilds will not only listen to their people, they will also not stand for such an insult".
"If we expose them, that would sway the public opinion in our favor" Pina comments.
"Exactly" Diabo replies before throwing a grape into his mouth.
"But that is playing dirty, it is without honor" Pina says.
"It's politics, my dear sister, there's no playing fair in politics" Diabo smiles and replies, he walks around the table to Pina and put a hand on her shoulder "You fought so hard for this, it's the burden you'll have to carry from now on".
"No, I didn't want any of this. I didn't want the throne, I fought for peace because I didn't want the empire to fall" Pina replies.
Diabo then sits down next to her "What did you think was going to happen when peace was archived? The UNE would still put father in prison if he were alive and they were never gonna give the throne to me or our brother. They know it's harder to control me and Zoral is a madman" he says.
He pulls Pina to face him directly and continues "The moment our legion marched through that gate and started the war, it was either you on the throne or the empire burn" he says as he looks into Pina's eyes "There's nothing you can down now but grow stronger, you're an empress now, not a young naïve carefree princess anymore, sister. You must be strong for your people, for the empire".
Pina looks at Diabo in silence for a moment the nods her head "thank you" she hugs him "for being here with me".
-Alnus HQ, Fort Alnus, Falmart-
Ava arrived at Fort Alnus through the gate in New Ginza in the middle of the night. General Nguyen was there to greet her and ordered her to take the rest of the night off before he would brief her in the morning. She spent the night talking to Admiral Ruby, apparently, the fleet defending the Uros system has been increasing to almost double the initial size, and a second interstellar gate was built to handle the large number of ships coming in and out of the system for the Excalibur project.
At exactly 0600 in the morning, Ava is knocking on general Nguyen's office for the briefing. The door opened automatically, revealing the general is sitting at his desk reading something on the holoscreen.
"Come in, take a sit, I'll be with you in a sec" he says as his hand gesture telling Ava to sit at the couch.
The General finishes his reading then input something on the screen and close it. He walks towards Ava and sits on the couch facing her across a coffee table "Welcome back, how are you feeling?".
"Thank you, sir, I'm fit and eager to be back on duty, sir" Ava replies.
"Good to hear. About the mission, we need mages for the war against the reaper and the activation of the Excalibur. We could spend decades or even centuries of research trying to figure out how to give our people the ability to use magic, but we don't have that kinda time. While you're sleeping, the reaper has been pressing hard against the Citadel Council's front and they're approaching our borders faster than ever, and there's nothing we can do to slow them down. We need a lot of magic and we need it fast" general Nguyen says.
"And the only place with a lot of mages, and magic, that we know of is Rondel" Ava continues Nguyen's words.
"Correct, now, our diplomats are already there trying to annex the city so we could start mass recruiting, or drafting if it comes to that. The GIA also built an intelligent network in the city and they believe that if the decision is made to side with us, the opposition would most likely organize a violent coup to stop that. If we come in gun blazing with tanks and gunships, the opposition faction could use that to paint us as an oppressive force and untrustworthy to turn everyone in that city against the UNE. Sure, we could just wipe them out but that's against the point. So we need a small elite team in the city to stop it from happening, you are to work with the GIA to stop the coup before it begins. And if you fail, protect the council and those who vote in favor of us at all cost" general Nguyen says.
"We won't let you down, sir" Ava replies.
"The 5th SIF is the best of the best we trust you will complete the mission. The rest of your units are already in Rondel right now, but because you will be fighting against god knows what kind of magic in that city, yours is the first unit to receive enhanced ability personnel, or PAE. This will be a permanent addition, every SIF squad will get 1 PAE eventually if we could secure more." general Nguyen says then he calls the guards to let the PAEs in.
The door opens allowing the 2 PAEs to enter the room and stand at attention facing Ava and general Nguyen. Ava looks at them then looks at the general, confused and perplexed.
"Seriously, sir?" she says.