His actions next consisted of leaving the lab and pulling inside a female chief of security who barely clung to life and bashing in her helmet's visor revealing what was left underneath.

“Unnaturally pale white skin, violet eyes showing extensive signs of mutation typically associated with gene therapy, blue blood consisting of a clear lack of oxygen despite recently being introduced, cream blonde hair severely lacking in pigmentation. All of which consistent to a failed revival attempt, a cloning accident, or severe accident relating to-”

Mercer emotionlessly examined, describing it all as if merely a rushed lecture before injecting her with an experimental stem he had contacted designed to boost the effects of a revival in such a scenario that vat was too damaged or in better words lacking to finish the job as Roy decided to assist him as no matter ‘what’ this young lady was she was still a lady..

As for Reaper Two the stem was no longer needed and was too specialized to be of any use to Mercer, so even if Reaper Two may suffer some of the same side effects, as long as he was alive it didn’t matter.

“Conclusion, these are Arcadians, and this is an Arcadian Vessel. How they were found, their mission, or even if they knew they had been dead for the last thirty-six thousand months, approximately three millennia before being revived with their vessel using heavily degraded corpses left in the void of space is unknown-”

Sadly however, before Mercer could continue what now appeared to be one of his boring debriefings, Roy finally intervened.

“Let’s ask her about that after we toss her into one of those fancy vats. I want to know why these folks wanted to kill our favorite Specter. I’ve known the man for a while now and I have never once seen the man surprised that someone was-hold on.. Mercer you getting this?”

Roy coughed after his Hud was suddenly filled with Specter Team’s Personal Files, Classified Reports, names & faces with their eyes blacked out and enough black ink to poison enough bodies of water to kill off a small colony.

“Director Alec Mercer, Former Director of Enclave Intelligence Operations? Now ain't that something? You don’t think-oh there I am.. Royce Foster, Freestar Desert Ranger, Special Forces and-ah hell.. born in The Sovereign Colonies. Those sneaky bastards-oh hold on a minute. Specter, now Specter One, Captain Ferris Welsh..”

It would appear someone had pulled the wool from their eyes. Unfortunately, that also meant someone knew who they really were. However, that was nothing compared to what Roy discovered about Specter One..

Anyone with brains would know who Ferris was, he was a bonafide poster boy, and Ernest’s right-hand man who dealt directly with The Board of Governors and filled in the cracks they made.

And when that wasn’t the case, he did his job without a single complaint, while being a bonafide leader while doing so. Roy admired the man, his code of ethics, and his personality.

He wasn’t just an officer or a soldier, he was what everyone needed at any given moment. Not only was he competent, efficient, and had an impressive work ethic, but he was also a sympathetic ear, self-sacrificing, and finally someone you could trust and without question.

If there was something one of his teams needed, he’d get it, if several officers needed a breather after an especially difficult drill, they’d get it. The man was damn near contagious, a genuine motivator and someone who anyone would be honored to serve with.

He was a great many things, but most of all the man was overworked. A testament to his character, especially considering he never faltered in his duties or his men..

New Harvest might have the most brilliant minds of this era but they were still human no matter how many doctorates they may have. No one was perfect, and neither was Ferris. On the other hand Mercer knew him directly and worked with him quite a bit as both Specter & Ferris.

So despite the surprise he didn’t react much, at least until Roy did, as if he had finally confirmed his suspicions, and broke his heart in doing so. Roy had always suspected Specter One’s Identity, but now? Ain’t that a kick in the head..

“Captain Ferris W Welsh, earliest reports would suggest he was a Corsair in his youth closely associated with The Farreach Conclaves. The only ‘surviving’ reports would also suggest he held The Position as The High Lord Corsair of The Farreach Conclaves until his disappearance”

Mercer anticlimactically updated, and considering what they knew so far it all added up.

New Harvest’s Acquisition Fleets travelled a great deal within The Farreach, and considering it consisted entirely of uncharted space and cloaks and daggers, most major factions stayed the hell away from there.

And not without trying, mind you? If a Sovereign Colony Fleet or hell even The Steward Council decided to barge in without going through The Official Channels, they’d stumble into enough cloaked mines, jammers, and slipspace inhibitors to regret it.

Pirates, Corsairs, Mercenaries, Spies, Assassins, Corporations, Crime Syndicates, and Black Markets tend to make their way there every so often.

And that’s because The Farreach Conclaves were considered ‘holy’ ground, a step above neutral for that reason alone. To enter its space freely you needed a Slipspace Key, or a partial one which was generally cheaper but could only take you to a specific conclave.

Some were even degradable; those were merely fifty thousand credits and more comparable to temporary visas for the most part. While it wasn’t unusual to simply go to a single conclave and use the transport services to travel to one another.

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However, if someone for one wanted to come back it was simply more convenient to use the keys and get heavy discounts over degradable keys without. With that in mind, each organization, or sub faction had their own complete key if they could afford it.

So, it wasn’t bizarre to see The Steward Council, a handful of Curators and Arcadians to appear from time to time.

Roy for one had heard about it but assumed it was pirate legend, Mercer on the other hand had not only known about it but had even visited it a handful of times due to his former occupation.

However, he hadn’t known Ferris had anything to do with it, nor did he know his position within its hierarchy until moments ago.

“His mind, and the extent of his scientific expertise was known to me. This was not. His methods left little to identify his origin, despite their advanced nature. It makes no difference. The Arcadians present casted the first stone, I need not interfere, only know their intentions”

Mercer indifferently confessed, it mattered little of Specter One’s Origins. In his eyes he saw two faces, two faces that shouldn’t be associated with the other. Naturally, the two shared quite a few secrets relating to several projects done in secret.

Outside of his own interests in research and technology, he had no interest whatsoever in Specter One’s private life or his origins. For the time being, this vat, this ship, and what it holds were far more fascinating than anything present.

His favor to him is merely passing along his own theories, evidence, and reports without disclosing one’s personal secrets or origins. Whatever Roy decides to do with it mattered little as his character already proved he’d do nothing with the knowledge.

“Understood, let’s see what these boys know and torch the place after you collect those trinkets of yours? As for the girl.. I ain't one to execute an unarmed woman. She ain’t a spy, this ain’t a sanctioned mission and we’re on her ship. Once she gets her bearings she’s going into stasis and ‘your’ getting the hell out of here Reaper Two”

To put it bluntly, this was merely a shortstop.

By this time Roy and everyone else would get his message telling them to get the hell out of there and enjoy their pension Mercer & Reaper two will be gone, on the other hand Roy had other plans.

Naturally Mercer chose to send everything minus the knowledge of his identity in one single package, as Roy discreetly took his leave..

…

Thirty minutes later..

Location: N.H.S. Forgotten Oath

Status: M.I.A

The corridors of once immense heavy dreadnought were dark, frigid, bloody.. with no bodies in sight. The sound of something dragging on its cold floors were the only sounds legible as despite its current state, there were no creaks to be heard.

A testament to its undeniable quality.. as Specter effortlessly dragged a deceased Cheynne.

“...”

Naturally Cheyenne wasn’t truly dead, Specter One simply had no desire to insert her chip into his suit, as the occasional frigid wind would cross his path.. what’s more he found it bizarre that the wind could travel so deep within the corridors despite only appearing at random intervals?

…

Fifteen Minutes Later..

Soon he would arrive within the restricted lab with what he needed, naturally most of the fleet had them despite them rarely actively being used due to the clearance required generally being higher, making them all but wasted.

At least until someone with a high enough clearance came aboard as its heavy door, seemingly running under its own power, blinked a red light indicating someone had attempted to access it without the proper clearance.

Unfortunately, as a result it was now dead locked, forcing him to break a small portion of the wall and access its auxiliary from a separate system, as per the thousands of redundancies fixated on a credit pit before allowing it to scan him and sample his blood.

Sadly however, it had delayed processing up until he let go of Cheyenne’s arm.. and bizarrely enough that did the trick as he dragged her into the blinding light and entered the sizable lab left untouched and functioning as if without a care in the world.

There were a series of advanced medical equipment, containment cells, chambers, vats be it cloning, revival, or stasis alongside a rather luxurious and small infirmary perhaps for those VIPs with said clearance as he set Cheyenne on a cold metal examiner’s table.

Despite this, something was wrong here.. an A.I’s Projection, essentially Calisto’s Cousin, should have appeared the moment the door opened, prompting him to examine The A.I Matrix only to realize the issue. A stowaway had unfortunately taken up residence..

And as if sensing the tension in the air, it made its presence known. That being in the form of.. another Calisto..

“Hello, I am Calisto Zeta. I apologize for breaking protocol and accessing this lab without the proper permissions but considering these circumstances I’d much prefer not to be erased? By the order of Planetary Governor, I was created to oversee the evaluation and extraction of Calisto Beta. Had I known she’d-”

Zeta calmly explained, however, before she could continue, he had removed the chip she was currently occupying, but not without her kicking or screaming it would seem? And as to be expected, she left him a gift, that gift being that she had overloaded most of the systems outside of the ones currently in use as ‘something’ began clawing at the door.

As a result, he felt it was time to bring Alpha back into the loop..

“Terrormorphs.. Activating Neutron Purge-”

Alpha dryly groaned, having little patience in her current state, she also began debating a name change considering there were more of her hidden away then she cared for, as the quacked under the pressure of the dreadnought’s forced neutron purge..

“It should only take several moments for the neutron purge to spread into Beta’s Bunker. However, I doubt it would have made a difference. Beta is still locked down within her matrix in preparation for her eventual extraction and has been so since the initial cascade. She neither has the ability to nor is she in any state to commit the acts she had been accused of..”

Naturally, Specter One agreed with Alpha’s Assessment, especially considering she was currently monitoring her sister’s matrix as Alpha took control over the remaining functioning systems to finish up what needed to be done.

Leaving Specter One to finally remove Cheyenne’s chip from her body and giving her an overall better body semi-comparable to that of a Curator’s for the mere sake of it..

Naturally her appearance would remain the same, only somewhat more refined. And considering her clone’s genetics, and overall template, not only was it worse than anything Alpha has ever seen, but it was short lived.

For all intents and purposes, she had at best, five more years before her body began to degrade and her organs began to fail.

It wasn’t that Specter One had put any significant effort into her new body, he had simply used the closest prototype template in mind, and without much consideration.