STR-FOB Orca, Classified System, Tartarus Sectors

  March 7th, 2509

  Hawk, Grim, and Voyager were in this FOB to catch things up with Raptor, though the recent news that Empress Vollan would make a public speech in the Santris Square in 3 days did put a somber mood. Not only that, her highness managed to rally the Parliament to support her in defending the Imperium during a meet a few days. The trio did expect that things would turn to total war, but they weren’t ready. Dice was still under inspection, so he had to catch up with them

  They were sitting in a three-person seat, right outside Raptor’s office. Hawk’s left leg was shaking, then felt her husband’s hand on her lap, and the shaking stopped, when she felt calm. One of the many things she loves about Voyager..

  Raptor’s secretary came to them and called out.“Captain Hawkins, Lieutenant Baker, and Petty Officer First Class Hisham. Major Wolf will see you now.”

  “Captain?” Hawk asked in surprise.

  “Major? Holy hell, the Wolf got promoted!” Grim shouted in excitement.

  The trio entered Raptor’s office and saluted their signature salute, the two bumps to the chest. “I believe a congratulations is in order, Captain.” Raptor and Hawk shook hands, and everyone took their seats.

  “Thanks. So many things are happening, I don’t even know where to start.” Hawk was gesturing her hands wildly.

  “Yes. The Empress is readying her speech in three days. The Dominion’s invasion fleet have started their move, and should be reaching to Tortsin’s system, Mar, within a week. There’s a current topic that Voyager here need to catch up on.”

  “What topic?” Voyager was confused. Raptor brought a document file to Hawk, who then presented it to him.

  Voyager looked over and perused of the Task Force 7 file. A multi-species STR-led task force was ready to activate. He heard those before in history documents about the second Cyberis war.

  “Holy shit.”

  “In a good way or a bad way?” Raptor asked, her experience taught her that when someone says ‘holy shit’, it meant they either spoke it in a positive way, or a negative way.

  “Are you kidding? It’s good! It’s great! I often dreamed working with Task Forces like that when I was a kid.” Voyager was smiling like a kid who had his dreams come true.

  “How would you feel becoming their pilot?” Raptor asked, which further surprised Voyager.

  “A pilot? Like a pilot who supports them in the air, drops them in and out of the mission area?” He was barely containing his excitement.

  Raptor nodded, which made Voyager bump himself in excitement. “Yes!”

  “And not only that, your former squadron will be part of the Task Force alongside your former CO, Captain Reyes.” Raptor informed

  “Oh, good. No way I can destroy aircrafts and support the ground forces on my own.” Voyager spoke in a half-joking tone.

  “You most certainly cannot, Hisham.” He heard a familiar voice, then shifted his face to see Captain Nara “Narrow” Reyes in the flesh. Both pilots hugged each other tight like siblings reunited. Even the Rangers in the room smiled at the camaraderie.

  “Missed you like a brother, Hisham. How are you doing?” Narrow asked.

  “Well and good, ‘Cap. Am I glad to see you. ” Voyager answered

  “Likewise, Hisham. Squadron felt a little lonely without ya. Even your friend, Bully, missed you.”

  “Khalid is here?” Voyager asked in surprise.

  “You got that right, PO1. Why not you and I go pay a visit? See you two catching up.”

  Voyager needed no further encouragement, as Raptor was allowed to leave the office to catch up with his old friends.

  “How’s the recruitment looking up?..” Hawk’s inquiry only gave a sigh from Raptor, then got up.

  “Aside from accepting Dice, it has not been going great…” She answered

  “Hey, sorry I’m late.” Dice came inside, interrupting the conversation. “Damn inspection took their sweet time.”

  “Dice, buddy. We were just talking about you.” Grim chimed in.

  “What about?” The merc was curious.

  “We’re ready to set the stage to our multi-species Task Force by recruiting the first wave. TF7. We were wondering if you’re up for it. And you’re free to say no, we can find other candidates.”

  Dice pondered for a moment. He left the military life due to a useless and power-hungry officer when he was under his wing, and was more prosecuted in court for standing up. But if he was honest, the mercenary life was starting to thin out. He felt the need to find a greater purpose. A purpose that allowed to fight for what’s right.

  In the months working with Rangers Hawk/Grim, he may have found just the one.

  “I accept.”

  The room then burst to smiles, and Grim patted Dice on his back. “Knew you’d find yourselves at home with us!”

  “Guess I just found the right people.” Dice shrugged.

  “Before we can further talk about the task force, we need to first discuss the info we got from IIA from their interrogation of Mr. Kinsley, a few months ago.”

  The mood turned cold, with Hawk keeping her bubbling anger from within. Grim glanced at her friend for a bit, then focused on the discussion.

  Raptor flicked her tablet, then presented it to Hawk. While Hawk took a closer look at the report, Raptor talked. “From what the Agency gathered, Kinsley was collecting intel for the Unveiling Eye for a few years before he changed allegiance. Months before our Eridani deployment, he leaked the info about it to the group.

  Grim and Dice joined Hawk, and looked closer on the report in the tablet. The following sentence is what interested:

  Subject confirmed he had contact with Unveiling Eye group, particularly at least one member where he helped by sharing a rumor about Special Tactics Recon’s deployment in Eridani in September 2506. Out of security concerns, his contact didn’t share her real name, but he did confirm that she goes by the nickname of breacherkid.

  After finishing that sentence, Dice put his head down and groaned. “Ah, hell!”

  “What’s wrong?” Raptor asked, and both Hawk and Grim were curious.

  “I know who breacherkid is.” Dice glanced at them, concern washed over his face. “Grace Byrne.”

  The Rangers raised their eyebrows at that name, confused about who’s that woman.

  “A friend of mine. Was a cyber-security specialist in the Imperium’s Navy. Resigned after getting severe reprimand due to ‘constant to her superiors’, while in reality she was sharing simple concerns about cyber-security in the cruiser she was posted in, which were ignored by the skipper on a constant basis.”

  The room stood silent for a minute. The trail was getting bigger, which prompted Raptor to speak to her wrist-watch.. “Aquila, get all info you have on Grace Byrne and send it to my computer.”

  [Relaying.] Aquila pinged. This was gonna take a while for the system to collate, so Raptor

  “Do you know where she is right now?” Her question met with a shrug from Dice. “Honestly, not a clue. After she helped me get a ticket out of Tortsin with a forged ID, she told me to never contact me. Going separate ways.”

  [Data on Grace Byrne collated and available for review.] Aquila pinged again.

  Raptor gestured them to stop talking, while she perused all available data on Grace Byrne.

  “Well, Lady Fortune smiled upon us.” Raptor said. “Apparently, she’s being held at a Dominion Black-Site in the Laris system, in the Tartarus Sectors, but quite close to UHD space. Allegedly, she stole critical intel related to something called D94.”

  Why did that word sound familiar? Hawk wondered. Though, the current topic required her to focus on the present.

  “In that case, let her rot. She’s the reason me and Hawk had to go low-profile for a few years.” Grim commented bitterly

  “Grim!” Raptor called her out, but she wasn’t having it. “She’s an enemy.”

  “She’s a potential asset.”

  “If she has critical info about the Dominion, that’s all the more reason to extract her out of there!”

  The argument was growing louder, then Hawk whistled, causing it to stop and for both women to take a deep breaths to calm the tension.

  “Boss, you mind if you let Dice share his opinion?” Hawk asked Raptor. She took a breather gestured to Dice to talk.

  “Frankly, Major. I can’t be 100% sure that Byrne did that out of her own will.” Dice sighed, then continued. “We do know that UE are working with ICA, yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t know a lot about Byrne. But as her friend, I know her that she tends to have problems with authority. She’s committed and determined to do the right thing through her work. If she’s in league with Unveiling Eye, she’d only join them

  “You think she was blackmailed by her peers in the group to leak our Eridani deployment?” Hawk’s inquiry responded with a nod from Dice. “I do, Lieutenant.”

  “Captain.” Hawk corrected.

  “Right.” Dice nodded, then continued. “I do believe that was the case, Captain. And given she’s held in a Dominion black-site, my guts tells me that she was trying to find and leak incriminating data on them. Or, she was sold out by her peers under orders from the Accord, given that group plans to profit from the war.”

  Grim sighed, then glanced to the merc. “And if she turns out she willingly helped leak our deployment, Swerts. What then?”

  “Then I will accept your judgment on this matter, and will not cause further issue.”

  Dice spoke sincerely about his acceptance about STR taking their matter on Byrne, which were also accepted by Raptor and Hawk. Grim was narrowing her eyes, though. She felt Dice’s friendship with Byrne would make him biased, and he might try to make things difficult if the deck was stacked against him.

  Raptor chuffed, then chuckled heartily.

  “I don’t see how this is funny, Raptor.” Grim spoke sternly, then got lightly slapped on the arm. “Major.” Hawk muttered to her.

  “You know what’s funny? Byrne was one of the candidates for TF7. Her cyber skills got her quite a reputation hacking and breaching through different in different corners of the galaxy.

  “Well, given she managed to survey our presence, I’d imagine she could be an asset.” Hawk saw the apprehension from Grim, and continued. “And I’d imagine given TF7’s mission statement, our recruits have different combat doctrines than we do.”

  Raptor nodded at Hawk’s comment. The activation and subsequent recruitment. The way that Special Tactics Recon operatives conduct their strategy and tactics was not the same with warriors from other species. Examples being: A Kratoorin brawler, a Serpari engineer, or a Vernusen templar.

  “It would make things challenging for us. Some Kratoorin aren’t keen on following orders.” Grim commented, then stretched her arms.

  “True, which is why I’m giving Captain Hawkins the reigns to inspect the candidates in the file.” Raptor brought the document from the drawer, then sends it to Hawk. “Each of these candidates had prior military experience, and a history of insubordination. Be it intentional, or simply they were reprimanded for questioning the systems they were working under. ”

  “Thank you, boss. It’s an honor.” Hawk gave her gratitude, and Raptor nodded

  “Don’t mention it. Once we get the first team rolling up, we’ll be doing training exercises to maintain team cohesion. Our first mission needs to go right.” Raptor emphasized the last sentence.

  Hawk deduced what her friend was saying. “I take it some of the higher-up thinks Task Force 7 is unnecessary.”

  Raptor rubbed her eyes, and sighed. “Yeah. General Adams, Major Tyrone, and Colonel Erckens, and the rest of our have faith in us. FDA’s HighComm? They’re skeptical. Even with a number of species living alongside us in the Frontier, they think the idea of a multi-species regiment, let alone a task force, is naive and dangerous. Think it’s better we look out for ourselves first.”

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "I fucking hate Xenophobes.” Dice didn’t bother muttering his words, as Raptor heard him. “All the more reason to get this right. We fuck this up in our first try, and they pull the plug.”

  Hawk shifted her face to Raptor, then smiled. “Then it’s time we discuss our candidates.”

  Together, they looked over each candidate file. They started out with a blue-colored Vernusen woman, wearing dark purple hair, a few small scars on her chin and cheek.

  “Leera’Metrec. Former enforcer of the Vair Conclave’s Army. Skilled in firearms and warp. Was a candidate for the Inquisition Order. Left training and resigned the army when she protested the Conclave’s dogmatic beliefs. Currently enlisted as an adviser for Colonel Martin of the Imperium’s 75th Warrior Battalion at Hakkeer. ”

  “It’ll take a while to convince them to let Metrec join us. But then again, some CO’s are too stubborn to listen to their advisers, so she might look for an excuse to leave.” Dice gave his input, and everyone agreed.

  Hawk kept looking at the profile picture of Leera’Metrec. Focus. Determination. Beauty. The Vernusen are known to be beautiful, no doubt. But something about Leera’s face caused Hawk’s cheeks to flush red.

  “Hawk.” Grim elbowed her in the arm, getting her out of her little moment. “No ogling.”

  “I can’t help it that she’s beautiful. And I still have my husband, by the way.” Hawk sassed at her friend,. Then Grim cocked her head mockingly. “Mhmm. Are you sure it’s not that drive you two have where you often do threesomes?”

  “Ahem.” Raptor did a mock cough, and the argument died down so they focused on the next candidate..

  Next up was a large Kratoorin filled with scars over his body, face, and headcrest. He wasn’t a youngster, that’s for sure.

  “Orkis. Had been a warrior for 7 centuries. Cut his teeth through the arenas of his homeland, Torka. Self-exiled from his homeland after he rejected his ascendancy as leader of his Clan; Malae. Currently under contract with Red Blade, a PMC who set up shop in Abaddon. Intelligence confirmed they’re currently contracted by the Imperium’s Army to set up defenses with VC’s Battlegroup Akra and 470th Defense Regiment on Tortsin’s second moon, Orsin.”

  “So, we snatch him up in a warzone. Assuming that Red Blade don’t go after us.” Grim commented coldly, her tone suggested no love for Private Military Contractors. But it was the previous experience, if she was being honest.

  “PMCs are cheaper to hire.” Dice gave his input. “Easier to compensate for personnel losses from military and they accept missions from their contractors without any questions asked.”

  Grim chuckled bitterly. “No kidding. I just hope they don’t cook us alive. I’d prefer being washed with BBQ sauce.”

  Hawk rolled her eyes at the humor, “If nothing else, we can fake Orkis’s death when we recruit him and RB is none the wiser.”

  Next up was a Vernukin, her profile picture showed a hood she’s wearing and a half-face mask. Dark green eyes. Light grey skin

  “Yira’Solka. Veteran Assassin. Trained since the age of 13. High kill count in her career within the Shrokari Magisterium. Resigned after a 10-year stint, then took her skills in the Tartarus Sectors, earning her the reputation as Engulfing Shadow. Prefers to be contacted face-to-face. She’s introverted, lacks a sense of humor, and doesn’t like being jerked around.”

  “That’s a baggage I’m willing to ignore.” Hawk gave a comment

  “Sure.” Dice said dismissively.

  “Problem?” Hawk asked.

  “Both Vernusen and Vernukin have no love for each other. Ideological and cultural differences. If we recruit both Leera and Yira, they’re liable to be at each other’s throat.”

  “Leera is not devoted to VC, Dice.” Raptor argued, then Dice continued. “Even so, she’s devoted to her people. If the hand plays against them, she’ll defend them. Not to mention, she’s not keen to discuss her people’s leadership and their faults. It’s safe to say that Yira could often bring up Vernusen’s oppression towards Leera, which would cause problems.”

  “I still think Yira’s viable, Dice.” Hawk chimed in. “And the best way to maintain team cohesion is accepting the differences between us and work through it.”

  Dice pondered on her comment, and saw she had a point. “Yeah, you’re right. Oh, and you can just call me Swerts or Karel.”

  “I prefer Dice.” Hawk said. Dice shrugged, not keen to argue about that. “Whatever works for you.

  The next candidate raised some eyebrows. Hawk did a double take on the X highlighted on a Cyberis candidate. She chuckled lightly, and glanced to Raptor. “Only reason you thought about recruiting a Cyberis is because one of them rescued me years ago.”

  Raptor did a mock surrender and smiled. “You got me. But then again, the Cyberis aren’t welcome in society, so recruiting one is a fool’s errand. It’s more likely one of them could find us and decide to join us than the other way around.”

  “Just remind me not to shoot one of them if that happens, Hawk. I got an itchy trigger finger reserved for Charybdis.” Grim commented, and Hawk nodded.

  “Duly noted.”

  The next candidate was a Serpari. He had a burn scar on the right side of his face, which told them that he’s experience

  “Morov Kava. Former Special Tasks Operations. Combat Engineer. His missions are classified, but he made a distinguished career, earning commendations and medals in the process. Rumor has it he left STO due to ethical concerns. What those concerns were is kept only to himself. He took his engineering experience to do work in Abaddon Station, Quadrant B. Serious work ethic. Enjoys a challenge. Gets bored without it.”

  “How old is he?” Grim asked, aware of the relatively short life-span of the Serpar.

  “37.” Raptor answered.

  “Well, he has 13 years to live at the moment. A few more if he survives past 50.” Hawk answered.

  “Someone who can support us in the field would be nice. I’m okay with Morov Kava.”

  Hawk nodded, then flipped the pages to see candidate files of Dice and Breacherkid. She flipped to another page.

  They didn’t need to discuss Dice, as he was already accepted to the team. Nor to discussing Grace Byrne Breacherkid given her well-known skills and possible viable intel she might have. Though, given her imprisonment, they still had some questions.

  “Assuming we do recruit Byrne, first thing we’ll do is get rid of that stupid nickname.” Grim commented.

  “Hey.” Dice protested.

  “OPSEC, Dice! Her nickname is too much baggage. She needs a new one.” Grim argued.

  “We’ll worry about that, once we recruit her.” Hawk chimed in, and Raptor nodded. “Agreed. Now…”

  Raptor brought a candidate file, which showed a strong brunette warrior wearing battle armor designed with similiraties of the Nordic Vikings, though the file was again highlighted with an X. Not viable for recruitment.

  Still, Dice was scowling at the file, despite knowing she wasn’t fit for recruitment.

  “You know the Iron Wolf?” Raptor inquired, and Dice nodded. “Lara Vos. She’s my sister. Half-sister, technically.”

  “And the leader of the Fanged Tusks Clan in Asgard.” Raptor commented.

  “Long story short…” Dice took a breath to explain further. “Asgard seceded from the Imperium, and reformed their culture to follow and worship Norse Mythology. That was a century ago.”

  “Family trouble?” Grim asked.

  “Not exactly. Goes without saying, but we have different fathers. Her’s was a believer in Asgard’s continued independence. Mine was an Imperial Patriot. Don’t know what our mother saw in him, and I honestly don’t wanna know.”

  This was an uncomfortable topic for Dice, and his peers knew it. It didn’t feel right for them to pry further. But nonetheless, Dice decided to continue.

  “After I was discharged from the Imperium Army, Lara called me and was trying to convince me to join up as part of her clan. I said no…” Dice shook a breath, and continued. “Had a big fight. Never saw her again. And the rest is history.”

  Hawk, Grim, and Raptor grimaced. It made sense to them now why he was apprehensive about recruiting

  “I’m sorry, Dice.” Grim gave her regards, though he dismissed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m over it, and I’m more reliefed you reconsidered recruiting her. I just don’t want to see her face to face ever again.”

  “Well, she has psychotic tendencies, has a huge clan under her wing, and stubborn to the core.” Raptor shifted her face to Hawk, and smiled.

  Hawk deduced what the Major was getting at, then shook her head. “Yeah, I’m not sure if I can be friends with her, Raptor.”

  “Stranger things have happened, Hawk.” Raptor commented cheekily, and Dice shook his head again. Preferable to not indulge that further.

  Grim stretched her arms, and yawned.

  “Well, having a task force is nice and all. But it’s useless without a ship to take us across the galaxy..” Grim gave her input, then Raptor flipped the pages and stopped at one particular page.

  Hawk, Grim, and Dice looked at the page and their eyes widened at the pictures of a ship. A valor-class stealth cruiser colored in light grey, it had a wing near the two engines, and was long in length, like the engineers made the ship to be In the middle of the ship was the accelerated rail cannon, the heavy weapon system employed by the FDA Navy across a number of their warship classes.

  They saw the name stenciled on the side and near the bridge; Axe of Justice.

  Safe to say, they were admiring it.

  “Welcome to your new home, people.” Raptor introduced.

  Hawk laughed, feeling even more admiration. “It’s beautiful.”

  “Nice stealth systems, nice armament, nice rail cannon.” Dice was smiling.

  “And a fucking badass name.” Grim shared the excitement.

  Hawk closed the document file, then handed it back to Raptor

  “We’ve got big shoes to fill. Where do you want us to start?” She asked.

  Raptor shook her head. “You’re the Captain, Hawkins. You decide the mission and how your task force handles them as you see fit. I trust you with this.”

  Hawk took a breath, then crashed her back on the couch. Grim lightfully slapped her friend, as she expressed her excitement “Guess I have to follow your orders from now on.”

  “Still, I can advise you on a few things. You will a second-in-command, of course. An executive officer.” Raptor gave her first advice.

  Hawk didn’t take long and chose Grim

  “Woah, woah, woah, easy there, cowboy. Can’t you be worried that I might play unfair on your behalf?” Grim teased.

  “Say what you will, T. But I need someone to keep me grounded. And help with the paper work.” Hawk sniped, which gave a laugh from her friend.

  “Well, in that case, ma’am. I won’t let you down.” Grim saluted, and her friend saluted back.

  “And of course…” Raptor was giving her second advice. “You decide which of the candidates you recruit first.”

  Hawk pondered on the candidates. There were more candidates that would take a long time to peruse through. Their current timetable was short, and she’s more keen to find a solution to end the war sooner or later. With the Dominion on their trail to wage war against the Imperium, hundreds of thousands of civilians lives would perish. Millions more if the conflict prolonged. If this D94 thing that Breacherkid, Grace Byrne, was looking into is critical, then it’s all the more reason to secure her first.

  “Let’s start with Byrne.” Hawk commented.